Dying people don’t lose hope; it just changes. First, you hope for a mistake…. Next, you hope for a cure. A new treatment. A miracle! Hope is a lot like fear; both are based on what might happen. Hoping for a cure and fearing that there isn’t one are versions of the same thought: I’m not going to die.
Sallie Tisdale in Advice for Future Corpses. Page 82
washing dishes: a father’s glimpses 