Tag: Personal Narratives
-
We Love the Garden, It is Heaven, But We Cannot Stay
Karen Youso Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Below the Mayo Clinic is a maze of tunnels. Not the dark, dank tunnels one might expect, but wide bright hallways. Tall ceilings. Recessed lights. Artwork on the walls and carpet under foot. Miles and miles of pristine carpet. It is called a subway, a pedestrian subway. Along…
-
The ghosts of yesteryear
Sarah Howard Boise, Idaho, United States The Original Mercy Hospital Building in 20141 Some old buildings are drenched in mystery, regardless of their intended purpose or how many times they have been remodeled. I have often considered that the grand, century-old, empty building down the street was no exception, and furthermore, I stick to the…
-
An autoimmune love story
Megan Giller Brooklyn, New York, United States Our relationship with our bodies is the most constant, most intimate we will ever have. Photo by Ann W on Flickr. CC BY-NC 2.0. When I was twenty-three, my body attacked my liver. My doctor checked me into the hospital and my boyfriend and I broke up. That…
-
My little old lady
Nestor Ramirez-Lopez Champaign, Illinois, United States Picture of a typical ambulatory street vendor with foldable box and a rolling carrier. Source: www.carlosmunera.com 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,…
-
Is it legal yet?
Sarah Bigham Frederick, Maryland, United States In Flux, 2015. Painting by Sarah Bigham 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…
-
Win or Lose
Ashley Austin Charlottesville, 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…
-
Daniel’s clock
Yong Gabriel Berlin, Germany In memory of Daniel Chong (1965-2001) A hydrocephalic skull, Richard Bright. Reports of medical cases selected with a view of illustrating the symptoms and cure of diseases by a reference to morbid anatomy (1827). Online source: Wellcome Collection My cousin Daniel was born in perhaps the most medically infelicitous era in…
-
One year infirmed in USA & Japan: Differing practices in stroke rehabilitation
Laurel Kamada Hirosaki-shi, Aomori-ken, Japan The author mother visiting her in the Intensive Care Unit after the stroke. After surviving a massive hemorrhagic stroke five years ago, I spent half a year in stroke rehabilitation hospitals in each of two different countries. I stayed in hospitals and nursing homes in the United States before my…
-
Pink Skies
Gurbaksh Shergill Flint, Michigan, United States I stared silently out the window and took in my surroundings. The sun was slowly making its way into the sky, stretching as if waking up from a long slumber. The gold and pink tones of the sky were still hiding behind clouds, not quite ready to come…
-
Body matters
Grace Lucas Cambridge, UK Thinking from the ground up I had this friend once. She was around for a long time – years. I do not remember the first time I met her, but suddenly she was there, omnipresent. She was thrilling and intoxicating to be with, and made me feel high, light, and…