Humor Bedside

I found myself driving by the oak tree last night that took Michael Lynch’s life 40 years ago. Michael was in that coma for 30 days and his mom, Christine, would hold fort at the kitchen table, knitting socks and telling Bobby and I to go ride our bikes. There was an air of pain in that house during that time. Michael, just 16, used to race me, Bobby and Ben Elleck in the Tupperware Olympics. We’d run relays using Christine’s ladles and fill up the bowls with water from the hose. Christine wouldn’t mind – “You’re washing those bowls, Mr. Cote, if you lose.” Michael’s passing hit hard but time healed and Christine spent much of the next 30 years working at the convalescent home, knitting for the residents, making jokes about their health in a way that few can. She was a hot ticket and so her passing this week, on the eve of the Olympic games, sort of hit me. Reminded me that humor is an underappreciated gift in caring for patients.