When my mom was in the hospital a month ago she had the same roommate for the four days she was there. I visited every day and spent quite a few hours with my mom each day. As the curtain dividing the room offers little in the way of privacy I could hear all of the conversations the other woman was having with her daughter and son as well as the doctors and social worker. As the days progressed the woman stopped eating and drinking. I am haunted but touched by the conversations the woman had with her family and the doctors with the firm decision to stop all treatments and head to hospice. I never learned the family’s names but I think of the daughter who kept vigil with her mother as I did with mine. I often wonder if her mother found the peace she was looking for. I like to think she did. It was heartbreaking for me to listen to their conversations.