The Last Time We Met

Remembering a colleague who worked with me in general practice. We were older doctors.

We had said goodbye when he was leaving the clinic to work elsewhere. In a quiet moment we were sitting in the tearoom talking, as he would move away in a week’s time.

We reminisced about working in medicine and in general practice, as we had known each other professionally for about 30 years.

I asked him about his plans for the future and he told me where he would work and what he would do, and he talked about his family.

Then he told me how, when the time came, he wanted his death to be.

We talked about how the future may not be known to us in advance. He looked at me and for a moment we sat in silence.

As things turned out, it was the last time we met.

A few years later he took his own life. Exactly as he had predicted.