Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Vietnam

  • Comments on Dr. James Franklin’s article on George Orwell and the Spanish Civil War

    Stuart Poticha Chicago, Illinois, United States   In 1966 as a young surgeon who had just completed his residency, I was drafted into the United States Army. Following basic training at Fort Sam Houston, I was sent to Vietnam, where I became the Chief of Surgery of the 12th Evacuation Hospital in Cu Chi. The…

  • Scar

    Michael Loyd Gray Kalamazoo, Michigan   Photo by Min An on Pexels. Alice ran a finger along the scar on his arm and he slowly woke up, his eyes focusing in the dark. She had been watching him sleep. He rolled over to face her. “Can’t you sleep?” she said. “I had a bad dream.”…

  • “The trial” of Dr. Spock

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   Spock Behind G.W. Library. Photo by Warren K. Leffler, October 15, 1969. U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection, Library of Congress. No known restrictions on publication.   “Medicine is a social science, and politics is nothing else but medicine on a large scale.”1 — Rudolf Virchow, M.D. (1821-1902)…

  • The significant contributors to the history and development of Vietnam’s medicine sector

    Tran Nguyen Ngoc NhuHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam Physicians have long held a high position in Vietnamese society. Among many who have improved the health of their local communities, five physicians have notably contributed to science and medicine in Vietnam and beyond. Master Tue Tinh (1330 – ?) Master Tue Tinh’s real name was Nguyen…

  • Prisoners on leave: Vietnam veterans and the Golden Age Western

    Edward Harvey  Missoula, Montana, United States   Vietnam War – Hue, 17 Feb 1968 – US Marines Approaching Movie Theater Displays – Photo by Nik Wheeler. Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS. Via Flickr. “I think we all died a little in that damn war.” – The Outlaw Josey Wales   “So…what have you been up to?” When…

  • Letting go of logic

    Nimisha Bajaj Columbus, Ohio, United States   Last Supper by Leonardo DaVinci. Photo by Paris Orlando. November 2019. Public Domain “He’s here for aspiration pneumonia. He doesn’t want a G-tube even though we tried to explain to him that if he continues to eat and drink by mouth, this will keep happening and he will…

  • Where the unusual was usual: The Cook County Hospital blood bank

    Jayant RadhakrishnanChicago, Illinois, United States There are those who claim that the first blood collection and transfusion services were started by Percy Oliver of the Camberwell Division of the British Red Cross in 19211 and not by Dr. Bernard Fantus at the Cook County Hospital, Chicago in 1937. However, everyone agrees that the term “Blood…

  • Resolution

    Gaetan Sgro Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States   Looking Back: Vietnam War Memorial by Ann Stuurman. 2002. Windfield Photographic Collection, Ontario Canada. noun 1. an expression of will or intent; a commitment In June 1965, Edward White, one of two astronauts aboard the Gemini IV mission, becomes the first American to walk in space. He floats…

  • White coats

    Ken Williams  Cambria, California, USA   Image of Phan Thi Kim Phuc burned by napalm during the Vietnam War. Photo by Nick Ut. The Devil’s Breath: Napalm explosion Waiting White coats hustle by nurses of compassion their gentle, sideway smiles frozen combating war’s legacy Blood counts fall Platelets White cells Red cells M.I.A. Agent Orange…

  • The veteran’s hospital

    Helen Foster Richmond, Virginia, United States   Poet’s statement: Before I went to medical school, I followed doctor’s orders to hold my toddler son down and force on him more eye-drops than he needed to dilate his pupils. He panicked, and the atropine drops made him hallucinate. The incident I describe in my poem “The…