AITA for letting my patient's estranged son see him in his final hours against his daughter's wishes?
I've volunteered at hospice for three years now. Walter (81M) was in my care rotation for about five months, and his daughter Denise (52F) had been his caregiver and constant presence for six years, ever since her mother passed. Walter and his son Michael (49M) had not spoken in twelve years, something to do with the family hardware store and money that never got settled right. In his last days Walter grew confused but kept saying Michael's name and reaching for an old photo on the nightstand. Denise told me plainly, more than once, that her brother abandoned their father and was not to be let in the room under any circumstance. One afternoon Denise stepped out for coffee and Michael showed up in the hallway, shaking, saying he'd driven six hours. I made the call myself and brought him in for maybe ten minutes. Walter opened his eyes, held both their hands in his mind he seemed at peace, and passed early the next morning. When Denise found out what I'd done while she was gone she was devastated, said I went behind her back in her father's last hours and broke a trust she thought we had. She's asked the hospice not to assign me to her family again. I keep thinking of the verse about no greater love than laying down grudges, but I also broke my word to her.
What People Are Saying
Brothers make up before the end or they don't. You gave him that chance. NTA, full stop.
NTA. dying man reaching for his son's name isn't a policy violation, it's a dying wish. you did your job.
you kept a promise to a dying man over a promise to his daughter. thats the correct order. not the a hole
A Man wants to see His Boy before he goes. You did Right. Denise will see it someday.
the universe was pulling those two hands together... you were just the moon nudging fate along ✨ NTA
seen enough backseats to know regret eats people alive way more than broken promises do... you gave him peace not the a hole
Ya did the right thing. Man was reachin for his son, not some rulebook. NTA.
Dear, you gave a dying man peace in his final hours. Not the A-hole, not even close.
Should I stay in my house, move downtown, or move near my daughter in Ohio?
Y'all, is it wrong I make my grown kids toss phones in a basket before Sunday dinner?!
Should Bill and I go to our son's in Denver, our daughter's in Austin, or just stay put for Christma
AITA for making my son pay off the dent he put in my truck out of pocket instead of filing insurance
@garyh_brewsit
Rough one. But letting a dying dad hold both his kids hands one last time? That's not a betrayal, that's grace. NTA.