“She Had A Great Spirit” Letter From A Compassionate Doctor To A Bereaved Family Goes Viral

We all know that emergency medicine doctors are busy people. Often, they simply treat us and we never see them or hear from them again.

However, one A&E doctor was so touched by an elderly couple that he met briefly that he decided to reach out to the family and wrote this letter, which has now gone viral online.

A Reddit user shared this letter that his dad received shortly after the death of his mother. The letter was a personal note from a doctor who briefly treated the woman before she passed away.

“This letter was written for my father,” said the Reddit user, speaking to The Huffington Post.

“He stayed by her side until the very end,” he added.

Check it out:

In case you’re struggling to read the handwriting, here is what the letter says…

“Dear Mr. [removed for privacy],

I am the Emergency Medicine physician who treated your wife Mrs. [Removed] 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 [removed], 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.

[removed], MD.”

The Reddit user revealed that his mother had been suffering from breast cancer for some time. A month ago, breathing difficulties caused her to be admitted to hospital and 16 hours later, she passed away.

The doctor who wrote the above letter had never met or treated the woman until that day.

“If my mother were alive to see this, she would want readers to reflect on the power of showing compassion towards a total stranger,” said the Redditor.

“The support I got from Reddit was amazing – doctors, nurses and other Redditors who have lost their mothers to cancer were all shocked and amazed that the doctor took the time to write such a heartfelt, meaningful letter,” he added.