Today at work we (the patients family and I) had to tell one of my patients that his daughter died. To have to tell a man his daughter is dead is beyond words. After he was told that his daughter was dead, he sat there for a few seconds as still as can be, then picked up the bowl of canned peaches that were sitting on the table in front of him, and took a bite. He pretended not to hear what he had just been told. I was fighting back tears, as was the rest of his family. But then I felt this overwhelming urge to laugh. I don't know why, or where it came from, but I had to struggle not to laugh, and just as suddenly as that feeling hit me, it went away. I hugged the family, wished them well, and left the room.It was sad seeing the pain in the faces of this family. I wish I could take it away.