Tag: Personal Narratives
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Waiting for results
Susan AndersonMadison, Wisconsin, United States You do not realize you have been holding your breath for weeks, until you see the new email hinting the results are in. You do not realize the tension you are feeling because you have put all feelings about “The Medical Situation” on hold, waiting for results. You do not…
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A year in oblivion – an artistic journey
Mara BuckWindsor, Maine, United States My grandmother had a saying, “What is, is. What ain’t, ain’t.” Simplistic to the core, but truth often is just that. Her saying did not apply to cancer because cancer did not run in our family. That is, not before me. It has been a couple decades since my breast…
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Gregor goes to the doctor
Larry ZaroffPalo Alto, California, United States My clinic is far North in Acres, Montana, perversely, a small town near the Canadian border, where, in October, without permission the dark sneaks in early. My work here, after twenty-six years as a cardiac surgeon in Los Angeles, is the way I want it, a quiet general practice…
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Who do I look like?
Farrin A. ManianBoston, Massachusetts, United States As physicians, we are often valued by our patients for our compassion, medical knowledge, and skills in managing diseases and restoring health. Physical attributes such as facial features are not supposed to have an appreciable impact on our professional relationship with our patients. But what happens when a patient…
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A forbidden truth
Bhupesh PrustyWürzburg, Germany It was a sultry Friday afternoon in India. Being a first year PhD student, I had to run to the outpatient department (OPD) of city’s biggest women’s hospital to collect fresh cervical biopsy samples. I was the excited, young, graduate student. I felt like a doctor, wearing a crisp white coat and…
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Reconstructing a self: early trauma and the healing power of narrative
Mary ShannonPortland, Oregon, United States We carry with us every story we have ever heard, and every story we have ever lived.— Rachel Naomi Remen As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and the only child of a single mother on welfare who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, a healthy development of self has not come…
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Healing hidden wounds: a personal perspective
Jean CozierChicago, Illinois, United States When we’re small and we hurt ourselves, we usually find ways to fix it. We may cry a little, suck the wound, or run to Mommy so that she can kiss it and make it better. But what if we don’t know for sure we’ve been hurt? If no one…
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An evolving journey: Writing as healing art
Amy WebbPawleys Island, South Carolina, United States It started simply enough. Soon after my diagnosis, a friend and fellow breast cancer survivor counseled me about protecting a space for healing. We discussed the need to create that delicate balance of keeping a network of friends and family informed along the way, while giving oneself the…
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Protecting a child’s true essence
Anjali Vidya VarmaNew York, New York, United States I have always felt a particular affection for children. During family gatherings and holiday parties, as the adults sipped wine and discussed the hardships inherent in their work, I would slip away to read a book to the little ones. As the story unfolded I would delight…
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Easy come, easy go
Anthony PapagiannisThessaloniki, Greece The invitation to talk to an informal gathering of his colleagues had come out of the blue. One of the major drug companies in his field had arranged to bring together a score of physicians in an educational opportunity to be held in one of the upper crust restaurants of the city,…