Death

The line between life and death in the developing world is precarious. A patient, whom one thinks will surely die, miraculously survives, while another patient can be talking with you and, a few hours later, that same patient is dead. Many times it is HIV/AIDS that steals people away, maybe from opportunistic infections that we can’t diagnose. Our diagnostics and treatment options for all diseases are more limited here, so we rely on what is most common or probable and treat with what we have. But too often it is not enough or it is too late. Death seems more unexpected and unfair here. It takes babies, children, new mothers, and young people, not just the elderly or chronically ill. As a physician, it makes one question one’s ability to diagnose and treat patients. What is it that lets one survive and the other die? Is it that patient’s will to live? Is it God? Is it destiny? Is it our treatment? Or a combination of these?

Please, pray for those who are sick, suffering, and dying, their families, and those who try to care for them.