WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?
I am grateful for the opportunity to share a story with you that lingers in my mind.
As you may know, I am medical doctor.
Henry was about the most thoughtful, considerate 28-year old patient that I have ever known. He was very handsome and very well spoken with a voice and an English accent that compelled attention.
Even when he was in pain he was cheerful and more concerned about taking up my time than he was about his symptoms.
Not surprisingly he had a beautiful girlfriend, well educated and from a wealthy family – she promised to be a real asset to him, as he seemed to her. They appeared to be very much in love.
The problem is that he developed leukemia and had been struggling with it for over 2 years. He was doing well and appeared very happy despite the diagnosis. He was able to work and was never in any great pain or danger and his love life flourished.
One day he came to the office quite ill. It was not terminal but it was a challenging bout of symptoms. I saw him and his girl friend together. I treated him and then they left. This intermittent flare-up was not totally unusual.
The next day the girl friend came to see me
alone.
She was really heart broken and in love but through her tears she asked me a question, which I will never forget.
She said: “ Doc, as you know, I love my boyfriend but he is sick. Doc, he has leukemia and is likely to die in a few years. I on the other hand, have my whole life before me and these next few years are crucial for me if I am going to have a family. What would you do doc?
Would you allow the illness to spoil 2 lives or is one victim enough?
She wept bitterly, and then without any input from me, announced that she was going to say goodbye to her lover.
One week after that visit she left North America and moved to Zurich. I never saw her again but I continued to see him for leukemia and then Depression until the end.
What would you have done?