\No, it's not depressing taking care of the elderly. What's depressing is the
fact that when you're to that point, people

Katy, my good friend (she just became a nurse practitioner) has been to many of
her patients funerals, invited by the patient or family. Certainly this is NOT
the norm. She's a warm, engaging person, who cares about people and it comes
across. I don't think there's anything she'd rather do. Suzanne is bent in the
same direction. On her first day, she and two other first time CCPs had to deal
with a patient who was bleeding badly. They had to leave the room. Suzanne
handled it, and put the patient at ease. Whenever he saw her after that, he'd
say "please smile for me, you're the only sunlight in this place." She was very
touched by that.
Last night she had her first bout of post mortem care. Rough night for her, but
she is determined to be great in her new career. Like most things in life,
following the averages is not reccomended.

RB