Doctor... This Might Be the Last Visit

A 70-year-old grandmother came to the OPD. She had recently undergone angioplasty. All her reports were normal, and she had no complaints. Her face showed the usual calmness.

But as she was leaving, she said, "Doctor... this might be the last time I come to see you."

At that moment, my clinical reasoning paused a bit. Physically, she was completely fine, but her words revealed an emotional feeling.

In 25 years, I have seen millions of patients and have often recognized their gut feelings.

Even today, her voice was not of a scared patient but of someone who had understood things deeply from within.

That feeling was not fear—it was a calm awareness, clear but unspoken.

I gave her medicines and patted her back, but something stirred in my heart.

Because sometimes we diagnose the patient, and sometimes the patient diagnoses life for us.

After she left, the OPD resumed, but that one sentence made my mind pause.

Everything was clinically fine, yet sometimes the patient's inner feelings are a bit ahead of us.

I know she is well and will come again. But...

Sometimes, visits that make you aware of the end also make you look forward to the next visit.

Dr Ravindra L Kulkarni Just For Hearts