THREE WEEKS

Fifty-nine year old “Chuck” was diagnosed with colon cancer eight months ago. Chuck was an engineer by trade and had a very precise, exact personality. He was very logical and handled his diagnosis the same way. Patients die the way they live and Chuck was a perfect example of that.

Chuck had many questions for his doctors throughout his disease progression. He wanted precise answers that could not be given. He came onto hospice about two months before he died. Once he was on hospice, he would ask the hospice staff these same questions hoping to get exact answers.

Chuck’s decline was slow, but steady while on hospice. He got to the point where he needed help walking and his appetite was poor. He was losing weight and sleeping more throughout the day. He got it in his head that he had three weeks to live and called his family to inform them of that fact. I happened to be visiting Chuck that Friday and he also shared with me that he had three weeks left to live.

The family, at first, was upset as they thought hospice told him that he had three weeks to live. Chuck then clarified that hospice did not tell him that, but he knew he had just three weeks to live.

Not surprisingly, Chuck died on a Friday exactly three weeks later. I truly believe that many patients have insight to how long they will live. Patients do let go when the time is right for them.


THREE WEEKS


He had always been very precise.
He had patience with fine detail.
He was exact and linear with his thoughts.
It worked well for him this way.

He was an engineer by trade
which fit well with his personality.
His days were filled with charts
full of diagrams and numbers to sort out.

The moment he was diagnosed
he wanted to know the truth.
What was in his future;
how much time did he have?

He was looking for the answers
to a question that wasn’t precise.
He needed to sort things out
the only way he knew how.

He was in a steady, but slow decline.
He knew he didn’t have long,
so he told his family he had three weeks.
It gave him comfort to know.

He was determined in his belief,
even though no one told him an exact day.
But somehow he knew the time to let go
as he died peacefully like he predicted,
with his family at his side,
in exactly three weeks.