Dr. David Tribble

One of our own lost her father recently, unexpectedly. With that event, those of us who work with her brought our offerings of care and support and were acutely aware of her pain and her loss. Though we work with death, and the pain it leaves behind, every day, it was different having it this close, this personal.

I am reminded, then, that death is this close, this raw, this personal for the people we have the privilege to serve. Each death is someone’s father, mother, sister, brother and those who remain have these same feelings. For them it is personal, up close, and raw.

The world is a poorer place for this man’s absence, but even his death carried this lesson for me: death is always personal, up close and raw. It is never routine, no matter how frequently we encounter it.

Dr. David Tribble is Alive Hospice’s chief medical officer.