Our teachers tried teaching us about death during nursing training. As a student nurse, I knew I would see death in my1. I had no idea of the2it would have on me,3.
The first person I saw die was an elderly man, John, who had been4for weeks. His heart was5and the health－care team was keeping him comfortable and6his symptoms. He had stopped speaking days before but was still awake at times, and his7when we spoke to him was beautiful.
When I came on to the8one morning, the night staff said he had deteriorated (恶化) overnight and had9left to leave. A trained nurse and I gave him a bed bath, shaved him and changed his sheets. For the next six hours I10his hand and talked to him. The doctor came in regularly and asked if he needed more pain relief but he seemed11most of the time. He only12opened his eyes to smile at me. Early in the afternoon the nurse came back in and we washed his face and13his hair. As she was just about to leave the room, she stroked his hair and said:" Oh John, just14." Minutes later, he did.
It has been 20 years since John's death. I have seen15deaths in my time nursing. I have seen staff go far beyond the16of their jobs to17that a patient has as good a death as possible. I remember some of the other faces, but none is quite as18as John's. He, and the professionals who were19him, taught me that it20how we treat those who are dying.
