Victoria was called to help a family who was very angry with their doctor. The patient was a long-time alcoholic with multiple serious gastrointestinal disorders and was approaching the end of life. The physician had recommended hospice care as there was nothing more that could be done to help the patient survive.
The patient did not have insurance and his sister believed and accused the physician of not treating her brother, not even feeding him and letting him starve because he did not have insurance. The doctor explained the situation in an odd fashion. He used an analogy of a trip to California. You could reach California by airplane, by train, by bus, by car, or walk. Her brother would have to walk. The patient's sister felt that he showed absolutely no compassion and felt he dismissed the patient as a human not worth caring for. She was very angry and accusatory.
When Victoria met with the family, she listened intently, with an understanding of what the family felt. Through listening and holding their hands, she explained the end of life. Victoria explained the patient's condition and care and how TPN (which the sister asked for) would not help the patient survive, it would only prolong his life for a short time because his body was shutting down and could not process the nutrients.
Victoria was compassionate, understanding, and spent over two hours with the family to help them understand. Not to justify the physician's words, but to help them to have peace with the fact that their brother was reaching the end of his life.
As they parted that evening, the sister and her family left with forgiveness for the doctor's words and praying for him and the staff who cared for the sick.