Month: January 2018
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From bedside to bench and beyond: the legacy of Dr. Eric G.L. Bywaters
Joshua NiforatosGregory RuteckiCleveland, Ohio, United States The historian John Lukacs, a contemporary of pioneering British physician Eric G. L. Bywaters (1910-2003), wrote in his book At the End of an Age that “the history of anything amounts to that thing itself.”1 Lukacs, influenced by physicists Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr, as well as Goethe’s Theory…
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My little old lady
Nestor Ramirez-LopezChampaign, Illinois, United States In Colombia, as in other third-world countries, it is common to see street vendors of many types of goods. On Sundays and holidays, they concentrate around cinemas, sports arenas, the bullfighting ring, and other places where people tend to congregate. The most frequent articles for sale are food items, and…
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Narrative control and the monster within: Empowering disability in Jane Eyre
Mary ValloGlastonbury, Connecticut, United States In chapter twenty-five of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Jane tells Rochester that the night before, “a form emerged from the closet” in her room and tried on her wedding veil, ripped the veil apart, and blew out a candle in her face before Jane fainted with fear.1 Although Jane is…
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Why “nurse” Grace Poole is the greatest puzzle in Jane Eyre
Sarah WiseLondon, United Kingdom “My mind had been running on Grace Poole — that living enigma, that mystery of mysteries,” Jane Eyre admits to herself, one evening at Thornfield Hall. Charlotte Bronte’s readers’ minds also run on Grace Poole throughout the Thornfield chapters of the novel — from the first “mirthless” laugh that housekeeper Mrs.…
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The beauty of nature and the nature of beauty
Michael BaumLondon, England Do not all charms fly / At the mere touch of cold philosophy? / There was an awful rainbow once in heaven: / We know her woof, her texture; she is given / In the dull catalogue of common things. / Philosophy will clip an Angel’s wings / Conquer all mysteries by rule…
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Snakes and ladders
Shampa SinhaSydney, Australia “Can you tell me where you are, Mr. Pemberton?” I would ask the middle-aged man every morning as he was recovering from abdominal surgery. “Oh, I’m in New York,” he would answer with unwavering conviction from within the depths of his crumpled bed sheets. “Just sitting here drinking my coffee, until my…
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Is it legal yet?
Sarah BighamFrederick, Maryland, United States When I first embarked on this trip, I did not want to take to the land of chronic pain, with diagnoses as my expanding luggage. I only thought I had not worked hard enough to find the right medical specialist to prescribe the treatment that would end the hurt. After…
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Win or Lose
Ashley AustinCharlottesville, Virginia, United States It was my second month of trauma surgery and the deer-in-the-headlights look had not completely faded. I sat in the surgery resident lounge area finishing up some post-operative notes. The trauma pager and walkie-talkie weighed heavily on my hip. It was not the physical weight, but the weight of anticipation…
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Daniel’s clock
Yong GabrielBerlin, Germany In memory of Daniel Chong (1965-2001) My cousin Daniel was born in perhaps the most medically infelicitous era in human history. Developments in modern medicine ensured that he would survive serious congenital defects well into adulthood when barely half a century ago even many healthy babies did not make it past early…
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Dr. Currier McEwen
Maria Kinsella St. Louis, Minnesota, United States Dr. Currier McEwen forgot about growing old. No invasion of senior moments were permitted to cross his mind. He was committed to his own intuitiveness and enjoyed the ride of his life to its destination amidst multi-colored blooming beauties. I knew Dr. McEwen as a student when he was…