Stories of Kindness from Around the World

My friend A was dying of breast cancer. We knew it, but we didn't know she would descend so rapidly. Her husband, H, called to tell me she was in the hospital.

I spent as much time with them as I could in the next couple of weeks. I held her hand and read her Rumi's poetry until she fell asleep. I swabbed out her mouth with a wet sponge and helped where I could, but my most important contribution was supporting H.

This was the second wife H was losing to this horrible disease. He was valiant and selfless, but I could see that he was troubled. H is a very quiet man and isn't prone to complain. I gently probed. Near tears, finally he said, "Well, I just feel so badly that I didn't have the house ready so she could die at home. I didn't expect her to fail so quickly."

"What would she have at home that she doesn't have here?" I asked. He thought for a moment and then said, "Music and her cat, Butterscotch."

That day, music was easily provided with my boom box and her favorite music. He asked the nurse about bringing in the cat and was resolutely refused. I suggested he go higher -- to the top if necessary. With gentle inquiry, he saw that there might still be a way.

The next day I walked in to see A and H with radiant smiles. Lying next to A was a purring ball of fur the color of butterscotch. H had persisted until he received instructions from the top hospital administrator to "be discreet."

When Butterscotch jumped out of H's valise, he said A was as happy as he'd ever seen her. She was complete. And so was he.

After A died, the nurse came in to prepare the body. We thanked her for her kindness. She said, "Oh it was a pleasure to come in here -- for all of us. The love was palpable. I wish more of our patients could die in this kind of environment." I do too.