A few South Africans who are dying of cancer, AIDS or other life-threatening illnesses receive palliative care in hospices. For most, the face of a nurse is the last face they see.
Nurses who are drawn to death
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Nurses Duduzile Tlhapane (left) and Rachel Mabena meet inside a children’s ward in Soweto's Diepkloof Hospice. Tlhapane says she inspires her patients to “kick against death, even if your muscles are locked up tight.” (VOA/ D. Taylor)
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Patience Machetu recalls the bitterness of a man whose wife was dying. He asked the nurse "... why would God give her such a burden of having this kind of disease?’” (VOA / D. Taylor)
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“We are not here to fix things," said psychologist Cameron Hogg. "We are not here to cure. ... What we can do is to support them to have a better (death) experience.” (VOA / D. Taylor)