When we're healthy, we don't worry about our lives. We assume that everything will be okay. But when we become sick, severely sick, we suddenly realize that we are vulnerable. We realize that the future is no longer guaranteed. Most of all, we come face to face with the possibility of death. I call this the sorrow of severe sickness. Those who have not experienced it do not understand it. Thus, it is possible to treat it lightly and even to say things to the sufferer that may not really help. We need to know how we or others can face the sorrow of severe sickness.