What I wanted to say to you

when you walked in the room unannounced,

not even knocking first,

medical students in tow,

and proceeded as if we were not there …

We were there, a dying father, his wife, and two of his daughters.

We were not objects, we were humans,

and our father was not a body to be talked about but

a fellow human with a story,

a beloved physician with a bedside manner

that endeared him to his patients,

not just a sick old man.

It does not matter who he was or his station in life;

he could have been any man and every man.

Whoever he was, he and his family deserved some respect

and compassion.

That was years ago and now,

my only hope is that

somewhere along the journey

you have learned to respect and care for your patients and their families

the way my father did.