We've been doing hemodialysis on a little old lady in ICU who lost most of her small intestine (>80%) after it strangulated. This would be hard enough on someone much younger, but somehow she's still alive. Confused, in pain, trached and on a vent, and receiving total parenteral nutrition, anemic (I gave her 2 units of blood yesterday), jaundiced...but alive.

It's really painful to watch. She and her husband have been together for more than 60 years, and they've got no one but themselves. As I run the dialysis, I can only watch, and offer an occasional word of comfort. I can see it eating at him as he tries to comfort her. I watch him bury his face in his hands and sob. He told me when we first started dialysis that "She never wanted to be like this...", but here she is. His only companion, for these many years, and now...he's helpless...he's going to lose her. I gotta stop now. I gotta go cry.