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There wasn’t going to be a happy ending. The patient had metastatic[转移性的] cancer and had just gone through her third unsuccessful regimen[疗程] of chemotherapy[化疗]. Now it seemed that everywhere we looked， we found disease.
When she arrived in the intensive care unit[重症监护病房]， she was delirious[神智昏迷的]. I asked her the usual questions， about her medical history， and whether she wanted us to do CPR注1 if her heart were to stop beating， but she didn’t answer. I was just setting the clipboard[带夹子的写字板] aside when she raised a hand and told me： “Doc， do everything you can. I need to make it to my daughter’s wedding.”
She was in a lot of pain. She had a tube down her nose draining[引流] her stomach.
“When is the wedding？” I asked.
“Next summer.”
I blinked[眨眼]. I blinked again. She didn’t—she was looking right at me. At this point， I doubted she’d make it through the hospitalization[住院治疗]， let alone eight more months. I didn’t know what I could say. I put the stethoscope[听诊器] against her chest and fell into silence.
I met Stefanie， her daughter， the next morning. She was 24， but was only eight when her mother’s cancer was first diagnosed[诊断]. Stefanie had shared her home with cancer for many years， and had always seen her mother fight.
But she knew that this time was different. The oncology[肿瘤学] fellow who had been treating her mother as an outpatient[门诊病人] was the one to tell her that her mother was dying. Stefanie broke down， but understood there was no use denying[否认] it. The dream of a family wedding under the summer sun turned sour[令人失望，变坏].
Stefanie called her fiancé[未婚夫] that morning. Crying， she told him the news. But he turned things completely around. Without hesitation[犹豫] he told her， “I want her to be there， too，” and he promised not only to have the wedding done sooner， but to have it done right there in the ICU.
Our medical team was used to dealing with all kinds of crises[危机]： Handling a last-minute wedding was not one of them. While having more than one opinion on a medical team regarding[关于] how best to manage a patient is fairly routine[日常的]， we received no push back from anyone as we started to make arrangements for[安排某事] the wedding. Soon the whole team was involved. We sent a letter to the court[法院] to speed up the marriage certificate[结婚证]. A pastor[牧师] and harp[竖琴] player were booked. The hospital cafeteria[自助餐厅] baked a chocolate cake， and the nurses brought in flowers. In just a few days， we were ready.
When she arrived in the intensive care unit[重症监护病房]， she was delirious[神智昏迷的]. I asked her the usual questions， about her medical history， and whether she wanted us to do CPR注1 if her heart were to stop beating， but she didn’t answer. I was just setting the clipboard[带夹子的写字板] aside when she raised a hand and told me： “Doc， do everything you can. I need to make it to my daughter’s wedding.”
She was in a lot of pain. She had a tube down her nose draining[引流] her stomach.
“When is the wedding？” I asked.
“Next summer.”
I blinked[眨眼]. I blinked again. She didn’t—she was looking right at me. At this point， I doubted she’d make it through the hospitalization[住院治疗]， let alone eight more months. I didn’t know what I could say. I put the stethoscope[听诊器] against her chest and fell into silence.
I met Stefanie， her daughter， the next morning. She was 24， but was only eight when her mother’s cancer was first diagnosed[诊断]. Stefanie had shared her home with cancer for many years， and had always seen her mother fight.
But she knew that this time was different. The oncology[肿瘤学] fellow who had been treating her mother as an outpatient[门诊病人] was the one to tell her that her mother was dying. Stefanie broke down， but understood there was no use denying[否认] it. The dream of a family wedding under the summer sun turned sour[令人失望，变坏].
Stefanie called her fiancé[未婚夫] that morning. Crying， she told him the news. But he turned things completely around. Without hesitation[犹豫] he told her， “I want her to be there， too，” and he promised not only to have the wedding done sooner， but to have it done right there in the ICU.
Our medical team was used to dealing with all kinds of crises[危机]： Handling a last-minute wedding was not one of them. While having more than one opinion on a medical team regarding[关于] how best to manage a patient is fairly routine[日常的]， we received no push back from anyone as we started to make arrangements for[安排某事] the wedding. Soon the whole team was involved. We sent a letter to the court[法院] to speed up the marriage certificate[结婚证]. A pastor[牧师] and harp[竖琴] player were booked. The hospital cafeteria[自助餐厅] baked a chocolate cake， and the nurses brought in flowers. In just a few days， we were ready.