“People welcome you into their homes with graciousness and hospitality, at the most stressful times of their lives.“We have the most extraordinary conversations, not just about their illness and why they have chosen the VAD path but about their childhoods, careers, loves, hopes and regrets.”
Talk inevitably leads to how the person would like to spend thir final day. "We ask that question without holding back," Dr O'Brien says.
“There are always tears, but when the person understands they can ask for anything they want, they say, ‘oh, I'd like to have that’, or ‘Is this possible?’. Sometimes the requests are very personal. As much as we can, we try to make it happen.”
