Abstract
Profoundly ill patients continually confront the question of how hard to hold on. Often this falls to their families, who struggle to untangle their own feelings from those they believe their loved ones hold. The physician has a privileged role to play, serving as an advocate for life and a shepherd toward death. Every effort invested in this relationship over the years comes down to the days when the consent to treatment and the decision to forgo further care must be thoughtfully discussed so that a consensus can be reached.
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Notes
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Kilcullen, J.K. (2002). Waiting for the Cavalry. In: Crippen, D., Kilcullen, J.K., Kelly, D.F. (eds) Three Patients. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0939-4_26
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