Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Lea Dacy

  • Medical Spanish at Mayo Clinic

    Lea DacyRochester, Minnesota, United States The anesthesiologist was thrilled when she asked a Spanish-speaking post-surgery patient to wiggle his toes, and he understood and complied. A medical secretary appropriately triaged a caller from Caracas. Other colleagues on their lunchbreaks were able to direct Spanish-speaking visitors to the nearest restroom or coffee shop. These Mayo Clinic…

  • Maria Callas—her inner voice revealed

    Eelco Wijdicks Lea Dacy Rochester, Minnesota, United States   Cover: Prima Donna: The Psychology of Maria Callas. In Prima Donna: The Psychology of Maria Callas, Paul Wink convincingly concludes—based on largely secondary sources—that Maria Callas was not only a wildly ambitious operator who was not known for an emollient manner, but a prime example of…

  • Milwaukee’s unlikely public health advocate

    Lea DacyRochester, MN, United States The story of my mother’s possible childhood episode of pertussis (also known as whooping cough) has lived on in family lore because of its link with a notorious legendary figure in Milwaukee history. One Sunday afternoon, Helen Cromell (she later changed it to Cromwell), or “Dirty Helen” as she is…

  • The finality in their voices II: Physiology-defying violent opera death

    Lea C. DacyEelco F.M. WijdicksRochester, Minnesota, United States In a previous article, we reviewed the plausibility of opera deaths in wasting diseases such as that of Violetta in La Traviata. But operatic death is not always gentle: murder, suicide, and executions regularly befall operatic heroes and villains. These often make a great impression but do…

  • The interrupted concerto: Jacqueline du Pré and MS

    Lea C. Dacy Moses Rodriguez Rochester, Minnesota, United States   Enhanced portrait of cellist by www.AB-Photography.us. Used with permission of subject and photographer. Although promoted as a “comeback,” it was almost her last public performance. In February 1973, the late Jacqueline du Pré performed the Elgar Cello Concerto in London with the New Philharmonia Orchestra conducted…

  • “Heard it through the grapevine”: The black barbershop as a source of health information

    Joyce Balls-Berry Lea C. Dacy Rochester, Minnesota, USA James Balls St. Louis, Missouri, USA     The black barbershop has been a crucial gathering place in the history of the Civil Rights movement to the present day, when Barack Obama’s campaign itineraries included barbershop visits. Lesser known is the role of the black barbershop as…