Tag: Fall 2024
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Making a difference in the AIDS epidemic
Sandro VentoPhnom Penh, Cambodia Enzo entered the room with hesitancy. A nurse drew his blood, then moved him to where a young doctor was waiting, looking serious. As he asked Enzo to sit down, he inspired confidence. Enzo answered his initial questions with few words, having told his story too many times to too many…
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Science, wine, and music in Asti
Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel Back in 1993, while spending a sabbatical in Long Island, a few medical colleagues suggested we meet at a special Italian restaurant called Asti. The restaurant was located at 13 E. 12th St. in Greenwich Village, NYC. It was a unique experience. Besides an excellent menu, many of the waiters were…
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Tonsillectomy, then and now
The story of tonsillectomy can be traced back to antiquity. As early as 2000 BC, Ayurvedic doctors used primitive tools and herbal remedies to remove their patients’ pus-laden tonsils. In Roman times, Cornelius Celsus (25 BC–50 AD) shelled out tonsils with only his fingers, Galen of Pergamon used a wire snare (121–200 AD), and Paul…
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Invitation to tea
Sandra GaynorChicago, Illinois, United States Kena motioned for me to come up to her apartment. I had driven her home from the knitting circle, as I did every Wednesday. This was the third time she had asked me to “come up for tea,” and so I accepted. Kena is in her fifties, I think. She…
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Sulfonamides: The first synthetic antibacterial agents
Few discoveries in medicine have a more interesting history than the introduction of the sulfonamides into clinical medicine.1 I feel somehow part of this process only because, having suffered from some febrile illness as a little boy, I distinctly remember being given a medicine that went by the name of “rubiazol” and turned the urine…
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They made their own insulin: The story of Eva and Viktor Saxl
Ellen DavisChapel Hill, North Carolina, United States Eva Saxl not only saved her own life by making insulin during World War II, but together with her husband Viktor, saved the lives of over 400 people with diabetes in war-torn Shanghai. Her life story has remained relatively obscure—I had first seen Eva’s photo in 1991 on the…
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An emergency nurse in the time of Covid
Kimberly TranchitaChicago, Illinois, United States April 2020 I hug my family and leave for work in the ED. No cars on the road. I stop at McDonald’s to get my free “frontline worker” cup of coffee. I no longer bring my own coffee or anything else to work in an attempt to limit the germs…
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Waiting
Sandra GaynorChicago, Illinois, United States What is waiting? As a child, waiting was, for me, a time to be angry with my father. He found it impossible to be on time for any event. When the rest of the family was dressed and sitting with coats on, he was thinking about showering and shaving and…
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A midnight call
Anthony PapagiannisThessaloniki, Greece We are halfway through Advent and looking forward to Christmas. As I am finishing some late-night computer work and seriously thinking about sleep, the cell phone goes off. I recognize the voice of a man I saw recently. His problem is trouble with breathing, that vital function whose perceived difficulty flashes warning…