End-of-life services
By 8:30 a.m., the morning rush hour was almost over, and traffic congestion on the roads had eased somewhat.
Shen Bining was driving with the music blasting loudly, and every song was one she knew. She drove cautiously while wildly singing along to the music at the top of her lungs.
This was a rare moment of relaxation for her, and also the time when she secretly revealed her true colors. No one knew that the beautiful and knowledgeable female doctor Shen Bining, in public, would transform into a werewolf on a full moon night, howling incessantly, whenever she was driving alone.
Of course, her singing was really nothing to brag about, only slightly better than a wolf howl.
"The essential oil of Bulgarian roses, all dripped into the hand he just held..." Shen Bining stopped the car at a red light, singing and swaying her waist. Although her singing was off-key and her dancing was stiff, it did not stop her from admiring herself.
Just then, her phone rang. Shen Bining immediately turned off the music, instantly returned to normal, turned on Bluetooth, and answered the call.
"Dr. Shen, when are you coming to the hospital? A patient's family is waiting for you. They insist on thanking you in person before they leave." The caller was a young nurse from the hospital, her tone tinged with pride.
For most healthcare workers, being chased by patients or their families to express their gratitude is perhaps the highlight of their lives and the most proud moment.
Shen Bining glanced out the window, confirmed the location, and said, "I'll be there in ten minutes. Please ask the patients' families to wait a moment."
"Okay, Dr. Shen, drive carefully." The nurse said and then hung up the phone.
The call had just ended when the traffic light turned green, and Shen Bining stepped on the gas, speeding up.
Five minutes later, Shen Bining arrived at the hospital, parked her car in the staff-only parking lot, and walked briskly towards the building where her department was located.
Along the way, she kept being greeted by doctors and nurses she knew, and some of her close friends even teased her, saying, "Why are you walking so fast? Your department doesn't require you to clock in."
Shen Bining walked steadily in her seven-centimeter heels, her voice carrying from afar. "The patient's family is anxious to see me..."
And just like that, Shen Bining, true to her word, arrived in front of the patient's family in about ten minutes.
The group that arrived was a middle-aged group, men and women, brothers and sisters, couples. The eldest man among them, acting as their representative, presented the banner and flowers he had brought to Shen Bining, saying, "Dr. Shen, thank you for everything you did for my father during his lifetime. He passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon."
After saying this, the man and his brothers and sisters bowed to Shen Bining in gratitude.
They made quite a scene, and with people coming and going in the hospital, everyone cast curious glances at them. Some people with nothing better to do simply stopped to watch.
Shen Bining was still very conscious of her image in public. Her beautiful face flushed slightly as she quickly opened the door to her office and invited several patients' family members in. "Come in and talk."
After closing the door, Shen Bining asked in a low voice, "Has Old Master Wang left?"
"Yes, yesterday afternoon, his organs failed, but he passed away peacefully without suffering." The man was the eldest son, and he was always the one to speak on behalf of the family.
"Please accept my condolences," Shen Bining said.
The man shook his head, his face not showing much sorrow. "My father was so old and had so many illnesses. He had endured so many years and it was finally coming to an end. It's better for him to go and enjoy his later years. His greatest wish for the rest of his life was fulfilled with Dr. Shen's help. I think he passed away happily."
A woman of similar age also spoke, her voice choked with emotion: "The thing my father regretted most in his life was selling my younger sister for money. He talked about it for half his life. Later, when he was seriously ill, he still couldn't forget my younger sister. Thanks to Dr. Shen, who told us to do our best to fulfill my father's last wish, we shamelessly begged my younger sister for forgiveness, and she finally agreed to visit my father and reconcile with him. I think my father had no regrets when he passed away."
As Shen Bining listened to their conversation, she recalled the patient's medical record, which belonged to the surname Wang.
Mr. Wang is nearly ninety years old. He was diagnosed with cancer three years ago. Because of his advanced age, he cannot have surgery or chemotherapy, so he can only receive conservative treatment to prolong his life.
After learning he had cancer, Mr. Wang became very preoccupied. At first, his children thought he was afraid of dying, so they made up some positive and optimistic lies to deceive him. But later they gradually realized that this was not the case.
Mr. Wang was so burdened by his heavy heart that he refused to receive treatment. He sighed and complained every day, suffering terribly. His children were at their wits' end. By chance, they learned of Shen Bining's existence and went to her for help.
After several in-depth conversations with Grandpa Wang, Shen Bining finally learned about the old man's inner conflict.
It turns out that when Grandpa Wang was young, his family was poor and had many children. Seeing that his children were about to starve to death, he made a tough decision to sell one of his daughters.
The reason for selling this daughter was simple: a daughter is not a son and cannot carry on the family line; she was also young and could only eat but not work, so keeping her at home would only be a burden.
Fortunately, this daughter's life wasn't too bad. She was sold to a family of intellectuals who couldn't have children. The family treated the little girl as their own daughter, and they were well-off. It was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
But things didn't go so well for Mr. Wang and his wife after they sold their child. They were tormented by their conscience and missed their daughter terribly, to the point that Mr. Wang's wife died of illness at a young age.
Later, the Wang family found their daughter who had been sold since childhood, but she refused to forgive her parents and insisted on not acknowledging them.
After falling ill, Grandpa Wang knew his days were numbered, and his greatest wish was to see his daughter one last time, even if she scolded him to his face. Upon learning of Grandpa Wang's dying wish, Shen Bining persuaded Wang's children to find their daughter and bring her back to see their father, no matter what it took.
Thanks to the efforts of the Wang family, the daughter finally came to Mr. Wang's bedside, called out "Dad," and said that she no longer resented him. Having received his daughter's forgiveness, Mr. Wang finally resolved the greatest regret of his life. Although he ultimately succumbed to his illness and passed away soon after, he was smiling as he passed away.
This is also why the Wang family's children gathered together to thank Shen Bining.
Shen Bining looked at Grandpa Wang's children but didn't find the daughter who had been sold. So she had a clear answer in her mind.
Perhaps that daughter never forgave the Wang family, or perhaps she had already treated her blood relatives as strangers, and didn't care whether she forgave them or not.
She was simply kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see the man who gave her life leave this world with regret and guilt, so she went to see him. But in her heart, these people were not her family at all; she felt neither resentment nor affection towards them.
We all gathered together because of one thing, and after it's over, we'll go our separate ways. You won't bother me, and I won't bother you. We'll just be strangers connected by blood.
The Wang family's children understood this as well. They did not insist on a happy ending; they only hoped that their father could pass away peacefully.
Before leaving, the eldest son of the Wang family looked at Shen Bining and said with emotion, "Dr. Shen, to be frank, when someone first introduced us to this department to ask for your help, we really thought they were joking, or even that it was some new money-making scheme by your hospital. We only came to you out of desperation. But it turns out we were too ignorant and narrow-minded. Your work is truly meaningful; for patients like my father, your role is even greater than that of the doctors who operate on him. I know that modern medicine still has many intractable diseases that it cannot conquer, and many illnesses are incurable. When those patients' lives cannot be saved, it is you who need to step forward, alleviate their suffering, fulfill their last wishes, and allow them to live more comfortably and pass away peacefully in the final stage of their lives. The importance of your work is no less than that of other doctors; they treat the body, you heal the soul. Through you, I have learned what it means for the departed to rest in peace and for the living to find solace."
*
After seeing the Wang family off, Shen Bining sat back down at her desk, holding a freshly brewed, fragrant coffee. Recalling the last words of the eldest son of the Wang family, a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.
It's wonderful that another family has been able to face the passing of a loved one with her help; and that another group of people have come to know, understand, and respect her profession.
Every time she uses her professional knowledge to help patients with incurable diseases, watching them pass away peacefully, seeing their families accept the passing and face life anew, and seeing more and more people recognize her work and even gain a deeper understanding of and acceptance of her profession because of her... she feels sincerely that her choice was right and her initial persistence was correct.
Shen Bining is a doctor at a top-tier hospital in H City. However, she doesn't treat patients or perform surgeries. Her job is to serve patients who are terminally ill and nearing the end of their lives.
She is a doctor who works in end-of-life care.
Hospice is a comprehensive care concept for terminally ill patients and their families. Originating in the UK, it has been widely adopted in Europe, America, and Australia. This service aims to improve the quality of life by alleviating patients' discomfort, allowing them to experience less suffering and more comfort and dignity in their final moments. Hospice not only focuses on the patient's physical condition but also involves psychological, social, and spiritual support.
In many European and American countries, the concept of end-of-life care has been developed for many years and is quite mature. Not only are there a large number of doctors engaged in this profession, but it also enjoys high recognition in society as a whole. In other words, people there readily accept this concept, considering end-of-life care as part of healthcare, and a significant number of people would be willing to receive end-of-life care themselves or their loved ones when necessary.
At that time in China, this industry started relatively late and faced considerable difficulties in its early stages of development.
Chinese people believe that it's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death. If someone is suffering from an incurable disease and doesn't have much time left, and their relatives don't try to treat them to prolong their life, but instead seek out end-of-life services, saying they want to help alleviate the patient's discomfort and fulfill their wishes, so that the patient can pass away happily without pain or regret, and face death with equanimity...
The patient's family members will likely face immense public pressure and be subjected to harsh criticism from those around them.
When Shen Bining entered this industry, it coincided with the rapid development of the Internet. Chinese people's acceptance was getting stronger and stronger. They no longer turned pale at the mention of "death" and began to believe that living with quality was what life was all about. If people lived too painfully, it would be better to appropriately shorten the length of life in exchange for a broader life.
So she is considered lucky. She has not encountered any major difficulties since entering the industry. The concept of end-of-life care has become more and more well-known and accepted by Chinese people. Compared with her predecessors, her work has been much smoother.
She understands that the current state of end-of-life care services is the result of the hard work of countless predecessors. From the very first day she entered the profession, she was determined to take the baton from her predecessors and keep running forward, striving to gain wider recognition for her profession.
She never slacked off, dedicating countless hours to achieving results. Each time she received gratitude from a patient's family, she felt genuinely proud and reaffirmed that she had made the right choice.
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