Although I had to restrict the size of my practice, I felt closer empathywith my patients. When I walked into the Intensive Care Unit there was anawe-some feeling knowing I, too, had been a patient there. It was aspecial satis-faction to comfort my patients with cancer, knowing that itis possible toenjoy life after the anguish of that diagnosis. It gave me awarm feeling tosee the sparkle in one patient's eyes-a man with atotallaryngectomy-when I asked if he would enjoy a cold beer and wentto get him one.