C was my first patient. Every week we met to talk. Over time, C told me that she had written the story of her life – which she wanted her descendants to know about – in Hebrew but in Romanian phonetics.
“What can be done?” she asked.
“First put it into Hebrew script,” I suggested. “Check with your grandchildren and great grandchildren who has time to do it.”
No one had time.
Over a period of six months, C dictated to me what she had written. Between the lines, a lot of words were left unwritten; there was laughing, crying, emotion and trust that developed between us. I gave the file to her daughter (who works in the old age home where her mother lived).
C died a year ago, two weeks after the wedding of her granddaughter. She was at the ceremony despite her difficulties. This year, the family produced a booklet in her memory. In addition to the photos, the booklet contains the contents of the file that C dictated to me. In the forward, the family thanks me with all their heart. I feel like part of the family…I was so moved!