Laura Vater: My patients’ stories are part of mine, our lives are entangled, and connected

Laura Vater, Gastrointestinal Oncologist at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, recently posted on X:

“Dear patient I had to share awful news with you today:

When I close my eyes tonight, yours will be the first face I’ll see. I’ll wonder how you’re doing. I’ll wonder if I said the right words. I’ll keep hoping right alongside you and then pray for you, in this moment you’ll never see.

Some might say to not let work into your ‘real’ life. But where does one end and the other begin? My patients’ stories are part of mine, our lives are entangled, and connected.

Alongside our patients, we hope for them. We pray for them. We wish for good things in their lives.”

Source: Laura Vater/X