“You will be fine.”
Oops. If you don’t really know the medical situation, you may not want to use those four words. Especially if the prognosis is terminal.
Bette, whose prognosis is terminal, went for blood tests one day. The medical lab was in the same building as the local senior center where she had been a volunteer, and she ran into several acquaintances.
“Oh I heard you have been sick. You will be fine.” One, two, three people expressed these four words, trying to be reassuring, clearly not knowing how very sick Bette is.
Going back for tests another day, a woman who had been a volunteer with Bette simply said, “I want you to know how much we miss you. I always enjoyed your company.”
Nice.
Tags: What to say?