“I Hope You Can Find Comfort In The Memory Of Your Loving Bond”: Widow Receives Heartfelt Letter From His Wife’s Doctor

In December of 2012, shortly after his wife passed away at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, a local gentleman received a touching letter of condolence in the mail by the doctor who had treated her in the emergency room.

His daughter sent the letter to popular website Letters Of Note, to share the particularly eloquent letter that must have been comforting to receive at such a difficult time.

The doctor wrote that he has never written to a patient or a family member, but felt a special connection to his wife who was “so engaging and cheerful, in spite of her illness and trouble breathing.”

He said he was touch by the fact that there were such a loving couple and by the fact that the man was so supportive of his sick wife.

The letter read:

Dear Mr. [redacted],

I am the Emergency Medicine physician who treated your wife Mrs. [redacted] last Sunday in the Emergency Department at the New York Presbyterian Hospital. I learned only yesterday about her passing away and wanted to write to you to express my sadness. In my twenty years as a doctor in the Emergency Room, I have never written to a patient or a family member, as our encounters are typically hurried and do not always allow for more personal interaction. However, in your case, I felt a special connection to your wife [redacted] who was so engaging and cheerful in spite of her illness and trouble breathing. I was also touched by the fact that you seemed to be a very loving couple. You were highly supportive of her, asking the right questions with calm, care and concern. From my experience as a physician, I find that the love and support of a spouse or a family member is the most soothing gift, bringing peace and serenity to those critically ill.

I am sorry for your loss and I hope you can find comfort in the memory of your wife's great spirit and of your loving bond. My heartfelt condolences go out to you and your family.