I recently was given a new client: father of five, husband, brother and recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. I visited him to diagnose the situation and decide how I was going to handle his case. Inside the house there was a grim aura; my client was curled on the couch looking truly terrible. From his record, I had believed he was a bigger man, but the illness must have caused him to lose weight and become feeble on the couch. His wife, I presumed, looked even worse than he did, as she attempted to cook in the kitchen looking as if sleep was foreign to her. After this assessment I thought to myself “this is going to be an easy job.”

I returned a few weeks later to check in on my client and see if it was time yet, but this time things did not go as smoothly as I predicted. Once again the environment of the house felt worn out, as he was still on the couch looking ill, now having an IV bag attached to him, and his wife seemed as if she hadn’t slept since my last visit. Then as I was about to leave, I heard a noise at the door. I saw a young boy and girl walk through the door smiling. I immediately thought of this was strange as no one smiles while I’m around. Then as my client saw them, bang. A flash of light overwhelmed me. This flash terrified me as it seemed to have made my presence less know and rejuvenate my client who quickly left the couch and went to greet the kids. He still looked worn down, but I felt much more separated from him than I had previously. I did not know what it was that did this but I knew that I wanted to be as far from it as possible. So I ran out the door planning to come back to finish the job another time.

I came back again weeks later and saw my client eating dinner with his wife and two kids again. As soon as I entered the house I felt uneasy as if there was something preventing me from getting close to them. That was when I noticed it again, the same light seemed to be radiating amongst the family, any time I came near them it burned. Now upset and hurt I tried to understand what it was that was doing this when I realized I had seen this before. In a previous client, I had not thought of it before, since the client only had it for a short amount of time, so I was still able to do my job. But something within me told me this family was not going to lose it quite so easily.

It turns out the family never lost it, and my job was left unfulfilled at least for a while. Now as I write this I have learned what that light was, why it kept me away. The light was hope, and with it they were able to keep me away throughout his illness. I will return at some point but I have a feeling it won’t be for a very long time.