AITA for telling my dying patient the truth about his prognosis after his daughter begged me not to?
I've volunteered in hospice for nine years now, sitting with patients in their last weeks so they aren't alone. Last month I was assigned to a man, 85, sharp as anything even at the end. His daughter (52F) met me before my first visit and asked me directly not to tell her father how close he was, she said the family wanted him to "keep hoping" and didn't want him giving up. Our policy is to follow the family's wishes on that unless the patient asks a direct question, and he did ask me, plainly, one afternoon while we were talking about his garden he'd never see bloom again. He said "Peggy, be honest with me, is this it," and I could not lie to a man looking me in the eye like that. I told him gently, and he thanked me, he said he'd been waiting for someone to stop pretending. He passed nine days later at peace, his daughter says, but she found out I'd told him and she is furious, she said I took away her last chance to protect him and went around her wishes and the family's. My supervisor at the hospice had a quiet talk with me about boundaries. The daughter hasn't spoken to me since, and I keep thinking of the verse about truth setting us free, but I also keep seeing her face at his funeral.
This Case Is Closed
Sign In To See The VerdictWife says I overtip, I say a good tip keeps the waitress honest. Who's right?
AITA for outing my husband's brother's money lie at Thanksgiving instead of privately
Call or text my grandson, which actually gets a reply from a teenager these days?
y'all is it wrong to have a favorite kid's plate at the table and nobody else can sit there??