Abstract

Some years ago, my wife -- an opthamologist with a large geriatric practice Y had a patient inform her that he had a terminal illness and not long to live. Being the empathetic physician she is, my wife inquired about his end-of-life planning. He indicated that he and his wife were going to take their mobile home and travel as far and as long across the United States as they could before the final event. In response to her concern about how he could manage such a big trip in his condition, his response was, ‘‘I’m dying, but I’m not dead yet.’’