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101 Word Short Stories

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The Old Patient

December 26, 2024 5 Comments

By David Gershan

“I spoke to your nurse. She said you’re not appropriate for hospice care,” I explained to the patient over the hum of her oxygen concentrator.

She glared at me.

“Let me fix this for you.” I put the nasal cannula tubes back in her nostrils. “Talk to me, Mrs. Stenson. Do you want to die?”

She assured me she didn’t.

“I understand you have some pain and weakness in your legs, and that you’ve been diagnosed with—”

“You don’t get it,” she snapped. “I need to be on hospice. It’s the only way I’ll get my children to visit me.”

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rosemary Johnson says

    December 26, 2024 at 6:35 am

    Oh dear! I hope my kids would visit me before I got to that point!

    Reply
  2. Barry O'Farrell says

    December 26, 2024 at 8:00 pm

    So true!

    Reply
  3. Michael W King says

    January 1, 2025 at 7:27 am

    How sad, but I’m I know there is a lot of truth in your story.

    Reply
  4. Pamela Cartlidge says

    January 1, 2025 at 10:33 am

    Poignant!

    Reply
  5. PK says

    January 1, 2025 at 10:50 am

    Punchy twist – nicely done.

    Reply

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