99 years old… that’s how old this patient was. He lived in an assisted living facility with his wife; they lived in an independent apartment, but had assistance with things like cleaning, shopping, cooking, etc. He was admitted to the hospital with an exacerbation of a preexisting medical condition, but it sure took a toll on his body. He and his family were faced with the decision to take steps to aggressively treat the disease (which would make him feel worse in the short-term) or resign to hospice care.

He and his family had spent two days discussing the options and still were unclear of the path they wanted to take. The patient fell asleep for an afternoon nap and when I went into the room to wake him for dinner he said “no thank you. I don’t want to do this anymore. I’d like to stay in bed and be left alone.” After sitting down next to his bed and asking him what prompted this sudden decision and listening to his thoughts about this being “the end”, I let him sleep awhile longer and I called his son and asked him to come in. His son brought a radio, for him to listen to the Arizona State University Sun Devils in the baseball Super Regionals as the patient played baseball for ASU before the school was ever called ASU. They talked and the family agreed to his wishes and he would go to a hospice facility the next day.

The next morning, the family came in to visit. The first thing out of the patient’s mouth was “Did the SunDevils win? I didn’t get good radio reception.” His son confirmed that they won and that they would be playing in the College World Series the next week, the patient grinned, and then his eyes opened wide, he stopped responding, and the nurse called a Code Blue. Fortunately, the code was cancelled before the patient was revived (due to the fact that he was going to hospice that day, and this was confirmed with the family who were at the bedside).

I had a chance to speak with the son shortly after the event and he commented on how fitting it was for his dad to pass away just seconds after hearing about the SunDevils victory. He would surely be missed in the family, but his wishes were clear and he wanted to go in peace… and he did.