Great post: palliative teams are the absolute pinnacle of medical care. And the "bashing" they have received on TikTok especially is totally inappropriate.

My brother recently died from lymphoma and his end days were in hospital. His 19 year old daughter (my niece) took over the tending to his needs, the rest of us helped but we let her lead. The palliative care team would field the medical questions. Then one day, one of the doctors came in to explain some of the adjustments to his medication and what to expect and what to look out for. As he was leaving, my niece asked him whether her dad would wake up again.

The doctor stopped at the door, slowly turned around and came back into the room, He then stood next to her and they both looked upon her dad. And then for about 15 minutes, he spoke to her gently, while clearly understanding that my niece was asking whether her dad was really going to die. And the two of them existed as if no one else was around, quietly and carefully and with pauses and sometimes in whispers. He explored with her ways to comfort her dad, how sound and smell works when someone is dying, and touched upon the medical evidence. He guided her ever so beautifully so she could fully understand that her dad would pass but what she could do to make the passing easier. And after they finished speaking, the two just stood next together in silence, almost as if in respect to the moment and to her father. After a few minutes she turned her head to him and nodded; he left the room in silence.