At the same time, according to Heidegger, “throwness” in some sense implies a future possibility. In this way, our lives include an ambiguity in which a non-voluntary temporality, including ageing and disease, is a part and, at the same time, the future as a possibility is there to seize. Part of the care can thus be that the carer in communion with the patient tries to catch

sight of future possibilities in the AP24534 cost situation. Thus, the lived body is extending into a temporal as well as intersubjective dimension. The lived body is also extending into a spatial dimension. In the space between human bodies, opportunities to encounter and co-create, as well as a risk of loneliness and increased vulnerability exist. According to Merleau-Ponty (2011/1945), language constitutes a central medium through which we can share our own and others’ human experiences; “In the experience of dialogue, a common ground is constituted between me and another; my thought and his form a single fabric” (Merleau-Ponty, 2011/1945, p. 411). The dialogue constitutes a possibility to coexist, but in the general structure the lack of a common language emerges as an aggravating circumstance. An institutional framework, formal roles, and unfamiliarity in encountering existential issues contribute

in various ways to the difficulty in finding a common language. Gestures, as well as language, can contribute to opportunities and increased vulnerability. Merleau-Ponty (2011/1945) Liothyronine Sodium describes how other TAM Receptor inhibitor human gestures can be understood through an interaction between gestures and intentions: “Everything happens as if the other person’s intention inhabited my body, or as if my intentions inhabited his body” (Merleau-Ponty, 2011/1945, p. 191). The positions of the bodies in the room can signal both proximity and distance. And because the patients can have difficulties in both hearing and seeing, the position in the room can complicate the patient’s opportunity to participate in the conversation. One extreme is when the professionals

position themselves facing a computer screen, with their backs to the patient, whereas the other extreme can be seen when the professionals embrace the patient. The patient’s situation and life story take hold of the carers, and they respond by a gentle touch or by putting an arm around the patient. The worlds of the carers and the patients are brought together by the physical as well as existential touch. Methodological considerations The attempt to use parts of Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy is conducted with awareness of the fact that their texts include many more aspects than can be included in this study. Based on some parts of the philosophers’ works, the intention has been to contribute to a new understanding and to elucidate an extra dimension of the patient’s presence at team meetings.