This, too, shall pass.

“How have you been feeling lately?”

“Do you mean with my body?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I have been dealing with some different things. When something comes up, I see it as another obstacle. But I always say, ‘This, too, shall pass,’” she said with a reassuring smile on her face. 

Marianne is one of my hospice patients. She was admitted to our nursing home just a couple weeks ago and is living with an aggressive cancer, you know, the kind that sneaks up on you out of nowhere and takes over your body and everything in its way. 

She looks quite normal besides the immense swelling in her legs. She greeted me with a smile and enthusiasm, two things not counted upon in long term care and hospice. Marianne is easy to talk with and even easier to play music for. She has very little cognitive difficulty and memory loss, and she holds a conversation with ease. She is very much interested in listening to music, but she tells me several times that she is not musical. I beg to differ – we’ll see how things progress. 

And progress they will, according to her diagnosis and the disease process. 

“This, too, shall pass.”

Will it? Do you know what’s happening to your body?

These thoughts occurred in my head with little fortitude as I smiled and kept silent. This did not feel like the appropriate time to press in and raise up the subject of end of life. I’ll save that for another day, but who knows if there will be another day. 

Image from freestock.org