A patient named Mr. H was being admitted to the in-patient unit of the Aventura Hospital. His wife was visiting, trying to get him settled in a room to their liking, but she was distracted, close to tears - because her daughter was at that moment at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, in labor. A call had come through, saying the daughter was dilated to eight centimeters and was about to give birth. The poor woman was obviously torn between the joy of this special event and the heartbreak of losing her husband. Also adding to her dilemma was her fear that her husband would not live to see his grandchild.

I talked with Mr. H’s physician, and we quickly decided on the patient’s treatment so that he would be able to get past this difficult period and see the baby, somehow. Two days later, I walked into Mr. H’s room, and what I saw brought tears to my eyes.

There he was, with his newborn granddaughter - 48 hours old! - asleep on his stomach.

Mr. H died peacefully at 2:30 the next morning. I have no doubt that he waited to die until after he could meet his grandchild.