Roberta W.

Both of my parents battled cancer and transitioned from time to eternity. As a Professional Chaplain in the healthcare setting, I have the privilege of walking alongside of patients who battle cancer as I help them and their families embrace the beauty in the uncertainty of time ahead in this life.

I recall a patient who sought me out following my Chaplaincy training program. He was a professed non-believer. He wrote me and asked me to help him die. The patient was battling COPD. It was my first time knowing someone with the disease. This patient and I would meet at his discretion. We worked on him seeking reconciliation with relationships in his life. I had not heard from him in a while so I called his telephone. It rang and rang. Something led me to Google search his name. There I found an obituary with a picture of him from his younger days. My heart sank low as I wondered did he get all that he needed to get to have a smooth transition. And then I was angry because COPD should not have been the reason he left.