A wrong time to die
Anthony Papagiannis Thessaloniki, Greece Lockdown in Thessaloniki. Photo by the author. Death is the one absolute and unexceptional certainty in life. In the Bible we read that there is a time for everything, including a time to die [Ecclesiastes 3:2]. Is there ever a “right” time to die? Faced with such a question, we […]
The proximity of death
Paul C. Rosenblatt St. Paul, Minnesota, United States A family outing at Lincoln Park in Chicago a few weeks before the author became ill. Pictured are the author, his mother Rose Rosenblatt, and his sister Doris Rosenblatt (now Kopfstein). Photo taken by the author’s father Harry Rosenblatt and published with permission of the author. […]
Goals of care
Leah Grant Portland, Oregon Photo by Jake Thacker on Unsplash It was the beginning of my intern year and I felt like an impostor. Facing new responsibilities in both the hospital and clinic, I was aware of my lack of experience when patients asked for my medical opinion. But as I began to see […]
One chaplain’s journey: teaching, hospice, and humanities
Terry McIntyre Forest Park, Illinois, United States Photo by Ave Calvar on Unsplash Auburn University was an easy choice for a graduate student with two preschool youngsters. Teaching medieval literature was the draw. Later, a divorce necessitated working as a project manager in sub-contracting. When the Lutheran campus pastor in Ann Arbor wanted me […]
Gulliver at Luggnagg – learning about the immortal struldbrugs (abridged)
Image from Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. (Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World by Lemuel Gulliver). Illustration by Stephen Baghot de la Bere, 1904. Originally published in 1726. Out of copyright. From Bridgeman Images. The Luggnaggians are a polite and generous people . . . they show themselves courteous to strangers. One day […]
Sarah’s lesson
Henri Colt Laguna Beach, California, United States Claude Monet. St. Germain l’Auxerrois à Paris. 1867 Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, 79 × 98, W.84. Source Sarah put her hand on my forearm and dug a fingernail into my white coat. “Doc, I druther you not call my husband in just yet,” she said. “Doc?” I smiled. “You […]
Tracing wisps of hair
Miriam Rosen Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Child’s Play by Miriam Rosen My mother was diagnosed with cancer when I was fourteen. For the next nine years, she lived her life with elegance and seemed to do it with ease. She continued her psychiatry practice, only gradually reducing the number of patients she saw. She […]
The good shepherd
Pallavi Tatapudy South Kortright, New York, USA “Mr. Yankees stayed silent, but his eyes all the while were yelling, ‘O, my Good Shepherd, please don’t do this to me. How could I have gotten three strikes so soon? Give me the strength to continue playing in the game of life. I beg you to […]
How we love
Linda Clarke Guelph, Ontario, Canada Photo by James Sullivan The communities of health care and medicine are richly storied. For almost three decades, I have invited people in those communities to tell me their stories and they have been generous in their telling. A story told can be image-laden and many of those images […]
Ushers of life
Genevieve Kupsky Washington, D.C. USA Our obligation to our patients continues into the sunset of their lives. The sun sets on the cherry blossoms of Washington, D.C. in springtime. Photographer: Rami Halaseh “You are on holy ground. Time is sacred, and the veil is thin.” The chaplain left the newly-oriented volunteers with these words […]