Never Visit a Dying Person

“Never visit a dying person,” begins bereavement specialist Virginia A. Simpson, Ph.D., writing in Next Avenue.  Simpson tells of a sick friend who appreciated her visitors, but because they no longer saw her as the person she still was, they treated her differently.  “The message is this: Visit the person, not their disease, diagnosis or prognosis.”

Simpson did just that with Sharon, another seriously ill friend.  “For the next ten months, I visited Sharon every week or so.  Always arriving with no preconceived agenda, I let our time together unfold with Sharon leading the way.  Although we did simple things, against the backdrop of diminishing time, each moment filled itself with profound meanings and connections.”

Read More: Next Avenue