No Consolation

One of the doctors in work has two elderly parents. They are 96 and 97 years old. A few weeks ago her father was sent to the hospital because he was not feeling well. He is now in a rehab nursing facility. The doctor is heartbroken not only that her father is probably not going to survive much longer, but for the fact that her mother will be without him after 75 years of marriage. I totally understand what she is going through. I have spoken to her a few times about this and tried to ease her pain as best as I could with kind understanding words. Yesterday my receptionist answered the phone and it was the doctor calling from the rehab to say she would be a few minutes late for her patient. I did not hear what the doctor was saying but I heard what my receptionist was saying. I could fill in the blanks since I know the situation. This is what I heard: The doctor must have said, "My father is not doing well". My receptionist answered, "Well, he is 97 and no one lives forever". The doctor must have then said something like, "My mother wants him to get better and come home", to which the receptionist's answer was, "We can all wish for whatever we want but that's not the way it works. You don't always get what you wish for, sorry". I sat there with my hand on my face, like The Thinker statue. Was I really hearing this? My grandchildren could have consoled her better. My receptionist has a 90 year old mother living with her, so she should have a bit more compassion. When the shoe is on the other foot, is that how she would want people to react?