Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Boston

  • A column of volcanic sand

    David Gullette Boston, Massachusetts, United States   The original all-concrete BioSand Filters we made for many years. 330 lbs without its sand. Why shouldn’t a retired English professor devote himself to Public Health? I fell hard for Nicaragua in the 1980s, organizing Boston academics against Contra aid, visiting the country in 1986 with Father Steve…

  • Joseph Warren: The forgotten founder

    Kevin R. Loughlin Boston, Massachusetts, United States   Fig 1. The Leonard Zakim Bridge, Boston “If Warren had lived, Washington would have remained an obscurity.” – Peter Oliver, former chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court   On June 17, a late spring New England morning, thousands of Bostonians will begin their day by traveling…

  • End-of-life care and contingent vs. non-contingent duties

    Ronald W. Pies Boston, Massachusetts, United States   Introduction Mr. Joseph B, a 70-year-old widower and retired college professor, is hospitalized in the final stages of metastatic pancreatic carcinoma. His doctors estimate that he has “three or four weeks” to live. The patient is well aware of his prognosis, and, as he puts it, “I…