To hope under the most extreme circumstances is an act of defiance that permits a person to live his life on his own terms. It is part of the human spirit to endure and give a miracle a chance to happen. Hope, I have come to believe, is as vital to our lives as the very oxygen that we breathe.

Hope can be imagined as a domino effect, a chain reaction, each increment making the next increase more feasible… There are moments of fear and doubt that can deflate it.

I had learned that every patient has the right to hope, despite long odds, and it was my role to help nurture that hope.