It ain't over 'til it's over.
Yogi Berra

      Please don't let me die before I die.
Prayer

While there's life, there's hope.
Cicero

The above three quotes share common messages:

(1) Nourish hope in the face of grim statistics or a bleak outlook, and

(2) Live as fully as possible every day.

Berra's aphorism, "It ain't over 'til it's over," conjures an image of a batter stepping up to the plate when all seems lost, and making a great hit that  helps the team come from behind to win the game.  The prayer, " Please don't let me die before I die," asks for help in holding onto the hopes of life.   Cicero's words, "While there's life, there's hope." make clear that the time to give up all hope is after you die.  All three quotes discourage you from giving up all hope when you still have a chance because when you give up hope, you forfeit possibility.  As long as you live, you can find and nourish hope for improvement in your condition.  There is always hope.

These three quotes also suggest an insight about the experience of living: You are just as alive at the end of your life as you are at the beginning or in the middle.   Berra says it using a baseball metaphor: the game is just as much in play during the bottom of the ninth inning as it is during the first inning.  The prayer pleads, in essence, "While my heart still beats, please don't let me reject the new person I have become (or can become) since illness or injury has made it impossible to be the same person I was before."  Put another way, "While my heart still beats, please don't let me withdraw from life and loved ones.   Please don't let despair steal the on-going opportunities for sharing, giving, loving, and enjoying."  And, Cicero suggests that you can hope for more than just cure, or even improvement in your medical condition.  You can hope for emotional or spiritual comfort and growth.  You can hope for more moments of connection, meaning, joy.