we were lying in our bed at home,

我們在家，躺在床上，

and Paul said,

保羅跟我說：

"It's going to be OK."

「一切都會沒事的。」

And I remember answering back,

然後我記得我回應他：

"Yes.

「沒事的。」

We just don't know what OK means yet."

那時的我們並不知道 「沒事」意味著什麼。

Paul and I had met as first-year medical students at Yale.

我剛認識保羅時， 我們都是耶魯醫學系新生。

He was smart and kind and super funny.

當時的他聰明、善良， 而且相當風趣。

He used to keep a gorilla suit in the trunk of his car,

他會把大猩猩的人偶服放在後車廂，

and he'd say, "It's for emergencies only."

然後說：「這是以備不時之需。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I fell in love with Paul as I watched the care he took with his patients.

我愛上保羅， 因為他是如此細心地照顧病人；

He stayed late talking with them,

他願意花很多時間陪病人聊天，

seeking to understand the experience of illness

耐心地去了解病人的感受，

and not just its technicalities.

而不只是提供專業的醫療照護。

He later told me he fell in love with me

後來，他說當他看到我 因心臟停止的心電圖而哭泣，

when he saw me cry over an EKG of a heart that had ceased beating.

他便愛上了我。

We didn't know it yet,

當時的我們並不知道，

but even in the heady days of young love,

但是即便在青澀的初戀時期，

we were learning how to approach suffering together.

我們便學著一起度過苦難。

We got married and became doctors.

之後我們結婚，也成了醫生。

I was working as an internist

當我已是一名內科醫生時，

and Paul was finishing his training as a neurosurgeon

保羅正完成他的腦神經外科訓練，

when he started to lose weight.

也是在那個時候， 他的體重開始下降，

He developed excruciating back pain and a cough that wouldn't go away.

出現背部劇痛和長期咳嗽的症狀。

And when he was admitted to the hospital,

當他被送進醫院時，

a CT scan revealed tumors in Paul's lungs and in his bones.

電腦斷層掃描顯示

We had both cared for patients with devastating diagnoses;

腫瘤在保羅的肺部及骨頭上。

now it was our turn.

我和保羅都曾照顧病情嚴重的患者，

We lived with Paul's illness for 22 months.

而現在，輪到我們來照顧自己。

He wrote a memoir about facing mortality.

我們與病魔對抗了 22 個月，

I gave birth to our daughter Cady,

保羅寫下面臨死亡的回憶錄。

and we loved her and each other.

我生下我們的女兒凱蒂，

We learned directly how to struggle through really tough medical decisions.

我們愛她也愛著彼此。

The day we took Paul into the hospital for the last time

我們從這個經驗中， 學習做出每個艱難的抉擇。

was the most difficult day of my life.

我們最後一次去醫院

When he turned to me at the end

是我人生中最難熬的一天。

and said, "I'm ready,"

當保羅最後看著我，

I knew that wasn't just a brave decision.

並說：「我準備好了。」

It was the right one.

我知道這不只是一個勇敢的決定，

Paul didn't want a ventilator and CPR.

這更是一個正確的選擇。

In that moment,

保羅並不想要使用呼吸器 和施行心肺復甦術。

the most important thing to Paul

在那個當下，

was to hold our baby daughter.

對保羅來說最重要的事

Nine hours later,

是將我們的女兒擁入懷中。

Paul died.

九個小時後，

I've always thought of myself as a caregiver --

保羅逝世。

most physicians do --

我總是將我自己視為照護提供者，

and taking care of Paul deepened what that meant.

就像多數的醫生，

Watching him reshape his identity during his illness,

而照顧保羅的經歷 加深了照護提供者的意義。

learning to witness and accept his pain,

看著他尋思存在的意義，

talking together through his choices --

我學習直視、接受他的病痛，

those experiences taught me

並與他討論所有的決定。

that resilience does not mean bouncing back to where you were before,

這所有的經歷教會了我，

or pretending that the hard stuff isn't hard.

百折不饒的韌性 不代表恢復到本來的位置，

It is so hard.

或佯裝所有的考驗並不難。

It's painful, messy stuff.

這一切非常難熬，

But it's the stuff.

充滿痛苦且凌亂，

And I learned that when we approach it together,

但它是存在的。

we get to decide what success looks like.

我學到，當我們一起去面對它，

One of the first things Paul said to me after his diagnosis was,

我們就有權決定最好結局的模樣。

"I want you to get remarried."

當保羅知道診斷結果後， 他跟我說：

And I was like, whoa, I guess we get to say anything out loud.

「我要你再婚。」

(Laughter)

然後我的反應是，哇！ 我猜我們現在什麼都能坦白說囉。

It was so shocking

（笑聲）

and heartbreaking ...

這是如此讓人震驚、

and generous,

心碎，

and really comforting

展現慷慨無私，

because it was so starkly honest,

也讓人感到非常安慰，

and that honesty turned out to be exactly what we needed.

因為那是如此全然的誠實，

Early in Paul's illness,

而誠實正是我們所需要的。

we agreed we would just keep saying things out loud.

保羅病發早期，

Tasks like making a will,

我們都同意要保持溝通順暢。

or completing our advance directives --

比方寫遺囑

tasks that I had always avoided --

或預立生前醫囑，

were not as daunting as they once seemed.

這種我以前都會避免討論的事，

I realized that completing an advance directive is an act of love --

其實並不如想像得嚇人。

like a wedding vow.

我體悟到預立醫囑 其實是一種愛的表現，

A pact to take care of someone,

就像結婚誓詞一樣。

codifying the promise

誓約要照顧好對方，

that til death do us part,

信守承諾，

I will be there.

就算死亡讓我們分離，

If needed, I will speak for you.

我都會在那裡。

I will honor your wishes.

如果需要的話，我會替你發言。

That paperwork became a tangible part of our love story.

讓你的心願得到該有的尊重。

As physicians,

生前醫囑成了我們感情存在的證明。

Paul and I were in a good position

身為醫生，

to understand and even accept his diagnosis.

我和保羅可以了解並接受診斷結果。

We weren't angry about it,

我們並不因病情而憤怒。

luckily,

我們很幸運，

because we'd seen so many patients in devastating situations,

因為我們都曾目睹 許多病人處在這種狀況，

and we knew that death is a part of life.

我們知道死亡是生命的一部分。

But it's one thing to know that;

但有件事大家要了解：

it was a very different experience

面臨死亡是一種非常不同的經驗，

to actually live with the sadness and uncertainty of a serious illness.

活在悲傷與對抗重病的未知中，

Huge strides are being made against lung cancer,

我們積極地對抗肺癌，

but we knew that Paul likely had months to a few years left to live.

但我們也知道 保羅只剩幾個月到幾年可活。

During that time,

在那一段時間，

Paul wrote about his transition from doctor to patient.

保羅記下了他從 醫生到病人的角色轉變。

He talked about feeling like he was suddenly at a crossroads,

他說這感覺像是突然到了十字路口，

and how he would have thought he'd be able to see the path,

他以為自己會知道該去的方向；

that because he treated so many patients,

從以前照顧病人的經驗中，

maybe he could follow in their footsteps.

他以為自己能依循前人的腳步。

But he was totally disoriented.

但當時的他完全不知所措。

Rather than a path,

「與其說是一條明確的道路，」

Paul wrote,

保羅寫到，

"I saw instead

「取而代之的，我只看到

only a harsh, vacant, gleaming white desert.

荒蕪、空虛、閃著寒光的白色沙漠。

As if a sandstorm had erased all familiarity.

就像被一場沙塵暴 抹去了所有熟悉的一切。

I had to face my mortality

我必須正視自己的死亡，

and try to understand what made my life worth living,

並試著了解我人生的意義，

and I needed my oncologist's help to do so."

而我也需要腫瘤醫生的幫助。」

The clinicians taking care of Paul

那些照顧保羅的醫生們

gave me an even deeper appreciation for my colleagues in health care.

使我對醫院裡的同事有更深的感謝。

We have a tough job.

我們有份艱難的工作。

We're responsible for helping patients have clarity around their prognoses

我們有責任幫助病人釐清病情，

and their treatment options,

與解釋治療方案。

and that's never easy, but it's especially tough

這是非常困難的，

when you're dealing with potentially terminal illnesses like cancer.

特別是面對像癌症這類 可能無法治癒的疾病。

Some people don't want to know how long they have left,

有些人不想知道他們還能活多久，

others do.

有些人則想知道。

Either way, we never have those answers.

不論是面對哪種病人， 醫生都沒有確切的答案。

Sometimes we substitute hope

有些時候，醫生會選擇給予希望，

by emphasizing the best-case scenario.

對病患強調最理想的癒後狀況。

In a survey of physicians,

一份針對醫生的問卷中，

55 percent said they painted a rosier picture

55% 的醫生表示在解釋癒後狀況時，

than their honest opinion

與其誠實地回答，

when describing a patient's prognosis.

他們會選擇給予更樂觀的回覆。

It's an instinct born out of kindness.

這是出於人性善的本質。

But researchers have found

但研究人員也發現，

that when people better understand the possible outcomes of an illness,

當人更正確地理解疾病的預後狀況，

they have less anxiety,

他們的焦慮會減輕，

greater ability to plan

能更好地規劃未來，

and less trauma for their families.

還有減輕對家庭所帶來的傷害。

Families can struggle with those conversations,

討論病情可能會使家人間起爭執，

but for us, we also found that information immensely helpful with big decisions.

但對我們來說， 有正確的資訊才能做出好的決定。

Most notably,

比方，

whether to have a baby.

要不要生一個孩子。

Months to a few years meant Paul was not likely to see her grow up.

數月或數年意味著 保羅不太可能陪伴孩子長大。

But he had a good chance of being there for her birth

但他很有機會能參與孩子的出生，

and for the beginning of her life.

與陪伴她人生最初的一段時間。

I remember asking Paul

我記得我問過保羅，

if he thought having to say goodbye to a child

他是否覺得要跟孩子訣別，

would make dying even more painful.

讓死亡這件事更加痛苦。

And his answer astounded me.

然而他的回答讓我很驚訝，

He said,

他說：

"Wouldn't it be great if it did?"

「如果會的話不是很好嗎？」

And we did it.

而我們也確實生了一個孩子。

Not in order to spite cancer,

不是為了表示對癌症的不妥協，

but because we were learning

相反地，是因為我們學到：

that living fully means accepting suffering.

充實的生活意味著接受苦難。

Paul's oncologist tailored his chemo

保羅的腫瘤醫生調整了他的化療，

so he could continue working as a neurosurgeon,

所以他能繼續 以腦神經外科醫生的身分工作，

which initially we thought was totally impossible.

這是我們一開始 都認為絕對不可能的。

When the cancer advanced

當癌症發展至晚期，

and Paul shifted from surgery to writing,

保羅將工作從外科醫生轉成了寫作，

his palliative care doctor prescribed a stimulant medication

安寧療護醫生開立興奮劑藥物給他，

so he could be more focused.

如此一來，他就能更專注寫作。

They asked Paul about his priorities and his worries.

醫生們詢問保羅， 他最重要的事與他所擔心的事。

They asked him what trade-offs he was willing to make.

他們詢問他願意做什麼樣的取捨。

Those conversations are the best way to ensure

這些對話都是確保

that your health care matches your values.

醫療照顧符合病患的價值觀。

Paul joked that it's not like that "birds and bees" talk

保羅開玩笑說，

you have with your parents,

這和跟父母討論傳宗接代不一樣；

where you all get it over with as quickly as possible,

你會想快速帶過這個話題，

and then pretend it never happened.

然後假裝這個話題從來沒有出現。

You revisit the conversation as things change.

你得反覆思索， 答覆會依時空背景不同而異，

You keep saying things out loud.

你需要一直將想法說出來。