ABSTRACT
One of the most stressful parts of the job of primary caregiver is waiting for the end of the patient's life, not knowing when it will come. The author thinks many people have mixed feelings about the timing of death. On the one hand, they want their loved one to continue living so that they can continue to enjoy that person’s presence. On the other hand, they may want to know when their loved one will die, so that they can move on with life, and so that the loved one's suffering can end. Before the author met his hospice patient, the “I Have a Dream” speech was something the author had studied in history books. However, in his relationship with the patient, the author learned how racism had harmed one black man, and how it might be possible to overcome it.
