Tag: Spring 2012
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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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The Marjorie Kovler Center quilts
Mary Lynn EversonGreg Halvorsen SchreckChicago, Illinois, United States Established in 1987, Chicago’s Heartland Alliance Marjorie Kovler Center transforms the lives of individuals recovering from the complex consequences of torture. The Kovler Center provides medical, mental health, and social services; trains and educates locally and globally; and advocates for the end of torture worldwide. The following…
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Trauma stewardship
Laura LipskyConnie BurkSeattle, Washington, United States This article was excerpted and adapted from Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others © 2009 Laura van Dernoot Lipsky. For more information about the book and this work, please visit the Trauma Stewardship website. “Are you sure all this trauma work hasn’t…
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Is healthcare a right?
Ronald PiesBoston, Massachusetts, United States Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.—Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Introduction In this paper, I examine the question of whether healthcare is regarded as a “basic human right” in the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Though there are significant…
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The boys who did not come back from the brink
Ravi ShankarLalitpur, Nepal Lying unconscious on the stone floor, the 14-year-old boy bled profusely from a huge slash across his chest. Ram laughed, the sound resembling the screeching gears of a heavily loaded truck groaning slowly uphill. I frantically tried to staunch the flow of blood with towels and clothes—Ram’s maniacal laughter an incongruous accompaniment—as…
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My tragedy in retrospect
Mary OsborneChicago, Illinois, United States From a scaffold, neck craned, Michelangelo Buonarroti painted scenes from the book of Genesis, prophets, and sibyls upon the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Considering himself a sculptor, he wanted no part of the assignment, but one did not decline a commission from the Pope. Wishing all the while to…
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Miriam’s stoicism
Elizabeth NegliaDurham, North Carolina, United States “Refused?” I asked incredulously. She’s in pain on her deathbed. Why would she refuse? Sarah, the night nurse, sleepily rejoined, “I told Miriam to take it, but she won’t. I don’t get it either.” It was 7 am. Sarah was eager to go home, and I needed to start…
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Samuel A. Levine
Philip R. LiebsonChicago, Illinois, United States In an era where the use of imaging and other technological testing frequently takes the place of bedside diagnosis, it is intriguing to recall the state of cardiovascular diagnosis when the clinician relied on his or her eyes, ears, and hands—with a little help from the stethoscope and electrocardiogram.…
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Paul Wood: In memoriam
George DuneaChicago, Illinois, United States Dr. Paul Wood, the greatest British cardiologist of his time, died in London on July 13, 1962—half a century ago.1 Born in 1907, he went to school in Australia, took his internship in New Zealand, and after a stint as cardiologist in London, served with distinction in World War II.…
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Two Scottish tales of medical compassion
James L. FranklinChicago, Illinois, United States Dr. John Raffensberger has served both a literary and humanistic cause by placing in our hands two stories that highlight the most admired traits in a physician, the traits of empathy and understanding that patients and their families require. This slim but handsome volume brings together two Scottish tales…