mystic_savage

It's unlikely that, no matter how terrible his pain right now, he wrote a brilliant letter by accident. I expect the act of writing brilliantly is actually one of the ways he's chosen to deal with the pain. But brilliant writing still needs someone to read it, and to your honour he's asked you for the service.

So no, failing to appreciate the writing would be throwing up a huge emotional roadblock, refusing to engage him on the terms he's asked for. Appreciating it on every level you know how? I think the technical term for what that makes you is "a reader."