My dad (a chemo patient) was in the hospital with kidney problems late last year. At one point a couple of palliative care nurses came in to see him and basically told him he was dying and should go into hospice rather than continuing with chemo. My dad initially agreed but later changed his mind and told me he felt he had been pressured by these nurses. I found myself wondering if these nurses worked on commission or something and got paid by insurance companies to convince old people (on very expensive chemotherapy regimens) to give up. One of the nurses looked exactly like Jesus (the traditional white Jesus of wall art fame) and I wondered if he intentionally cultivated that specific look.

Unfortunately, my dad died less than two weeks later, so I can’t say these nurses were wrong.