• Ana Berlin.
• Department of Surgery, Division of General Surgery, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Adult Palliative Medicine Service, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York. Electronic address: Ab1254@cumc.columbia.edu.
• J Pain Symptom Manage. 2022 Sep 1; 64 (3): e159e164e159-e164.

AbstractIn this compelling personal narrative describing a case from the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, a palliative care physician harnesses the creative powers and strengths of the interdisciplinary team to provide compassionate care to a critically ill patient and his family. The author describes the process of identifying a surrogate decision maker from among the patient's many adult children-several of whom were estranged from him and each other-and facilitating weighty decisions about his end-of-life care. Over the course of this journey, the author grapples with her inner biases and struggles with the emotional trauma associated with bearing witness to extraordinary suffering and social isolation imposed by COVID-19. Not only does the ethics of care approach embodied here lead to the creation of enduring vibrant works of art for this patient and others, but it also affirms a guiding principle of palliative care in which interdisciplinary collaboration is marshalled in the service of cultivating relationships, upholding responsibilities, and intensifying empathy among persons tied together by a common narrative.Copyright © 2021 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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