Dear Judy,
I saw your advice yesterday to the sister who didn’t want to visit a sibling with breast cancer because she, herself, feared illness and hospitals.
I am a nurse and I disagree with you totally: You told her to go visit, anway, and that is idiotic. People who are mortally afraid of illness can only make everything worse for a patient if they visit. They faint, carry on, snivel, weep. It’s awful.
It does no one any good, least of all the patient. Tell her to stay at home.
Chris
Dear Chris,
You forgot one thing. I told her to get a prescription for tranquilizers from her doctor, should she need them.
I stand by my advice. The sister was clearly feeling guilty, or she wouldn’t have written. If she refuses to see her sister with breast cancer, neither she nor anyone in the family will ever forget it. And she will never forgive herself.
Thanks for writing
Judy
