by Daniel B. Hinshaw, M.D. —
“If
there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering.
Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without
suffering and death human life cannot be complete.” This quotation from Victor
Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning expresses
the perspective Hinshaw adopts in this study of the true meaning of “care for
the sick.” After exploring the ancient Christian tradition with regard to
healthcare and then surveying how “care for the sick” has largely given way to
a concern for “curing the disease,” he embarks on a study of what it truly
means to care for those who are suffering during illness. Part one asks “what is suffering, and what is its significance?” Defining
suffering as a “threat to the unity of the person,” Hinshaw illuminates (through theological reflection and qualitative research) what patients and
their loved ones experience as they undergo suffering on multiple levels. The
second part focuses specifically on the encounter of a patient with those
trying to help, asking what constitutes a therapeutic relationship and how the
patient’s pain should be viewed in that context. Hinshaw then proposes that
some measure of healing can be achieved even when the patient’s suffering will end in death. Gathering wisdom from secular psychology and recent trends in the
spirituality of palliative care, he offers a distinctly Christian
perspective on suffering and death, including the roles played by
reconciliation, gratitude, and communion in the “transformation of suffering
into victory,” even at the end of life.
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