The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

by Hadley Vlahos

As time has passed, I’ve found it to be generally true in life that, in the end, things are usually okay. Sometimes it just takes a lot of hard work and uncertainty to get there.

I took the paper from her and exited the office, more determined than ever. I was going to prove her wrong.

Empathy, on the other hand, is the ability to feel for a person and their situation without being personally affected by it. Empathy allows me to be present and compassionate without taking on a situation as my own, and it has allowed me to continue being a good nurse without burning out or engaging in the dark humor that so many people in my profession do, for their own sanity. It has allowed me to be a witness to one of the most important moments in a person and their loved ones’ lives.