This article draws on the personal experience by the author of an infant's illness and death to make three points: 1) children, however young, should be recognized as conscious beings, able to handle their dying process; 2) close relatives and medical staff may not be able to face the impending death of a patient; professionals may need to be brought in to help them come to terms with a situation of terminal illness; 3) by keeping illness and death away from its center, society dehumanizes these very human processes.
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