The Prognosis

Doctors, these days, are very reluctant to give patients a (life and death) prognosis -- far too reluctant, I would think. From one point of view, this is understandable, as the time of death is uncertain, and one can easily make a mistake. A prognosis is also an emotionally explosive issue. Often, therefore, people turn to the minister -- whether on their own behalf, or somebody else's. OBSERVATION: As just one example, a woman asked me, "How long have I got to live?" I said she shouldn't rely on what I said, but "It could be six weeks, maybe three." She said, "That's a bit depressing." Then she said, "I'm getting better." She died four weeks later.