Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Todd Hochberg

  • Turning points

    Loretta S. Downs Chicago, Illinois, USA   My mother’s end-of-life was 15 years long. It began the day my father died and she became dependent upon her children to fill the roles he had played throughout their 61-year marriage. Loretta Downs and Mom by Loretta Downs We managed relatively well, and her health continued to…

  • Miriam’s stoicism

    Elizabeth Neglia Durham, North Carolina, United States   Anne Todd Hochberg Chromogenic print 6”x 9” “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…

  • Anticipatory grieving

    Constance E. Putnam Concord, Massachusetts, United States   Anne Todd Hochberg Chromogenic print 6”x 9” When my father was making his slow decline into the grip of Parkinson’s disease, I found it easy (embarrassingly so, in retrospect) to criticize my mother for what I confidently labeled her unnecessarily grim view of the situation. She always…