Doctor's Reaction To Losing A 19-Year-Old Patient Is Heartbreaking (Photo)

Being a doctor comes with a lot of responsibility; patients lives are often literally in their hands.

Unfortunately, there isn't always something that can be done to save a sick person, and doctors lose their patients. It's incredibly sad but sometimes unavoidable.

Redditor NickMoore911 -- an EMT worker -- recently shared a photo showing the emotional aftermath of one such medical tragedy.

The photo shows a doctor kneeling down on the ground outside of a hospital in Southern California, doubled over in apparent grief.

The caption read,

The man pictured was unable to save one of his patients. Though this is a common occurrence in our field of work, the patients we lose are typically old, sick, or some combination of the two. The patient that died was 19 years old, and for him, it was one of those calls we get sometimes that just hits you.

According to the first responder, the doctor pictured soon returned back to work “holding his head high again.”

The powerful image is a beautiful, albeit tragic, reminder of the human condition: No matter how trained we are to be immune to certain things, we all feel, and we all grieve.

It's a comfort, in a way, to know the people who we trust with our lives to really do care.

Next time you're around a rescue worker, a doctor or anyone in a similar line of work, I hope you remember this photo and give thanks. They deserve all the gratitude we can give for their strength and hard work.

Citations: Dramatic Photo Shows Doctor Grieving After Losing 19 Year Old Patient (KHOU News)