She was barely five feet tall, an edentulous grandmotherly type who always seemed shocked to find such a large instrument awaiting her on stage. Seated before this familiar friend, she was utterly transformed. More…
I traveled up to Terezin against my will. My writing instructor had made the assignment. “Just write down what you see,” he said at nine in the morning while we squeezed into the aisle of a public bus headed out from Prague. More…
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. More…
When I began therapy, I wasn’t painting. My dreams of being an artist were gone. My therapist asked me, “What did you want to be when you were little?” More…
This series of mixed media drawings are abstracted from biological imagery. They explore issues of control of one’s own health in the form of self-inflicted conditions or diseases. More…
“Happy New Year!” a small voice squeaked out with soft exuberance. I looked up at the clock to see it was midnight, and my hands remained wrapped around the tortuous jejunum of a man I had never met. More…
Philadelphia Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania
Harry Crenshaw looked into the faces around the conference table. Why didn’t the hospital research committee take his project seriously? The study was valid and clinically applicable. Maybe Janine was right; he shouldn’t have called it “The Gone-A-Gram.” More…
Cave paintings and terrestrial petroglyph commonly include crudely outlined human forms. At all ages and in every culture, people have constructed similar figures as their initial depictions of the human body, suggesting that in cultural and human development, a universal idea of the human form exists. More…
Angus Easton died surrounded by loved ones who had done everything possible to ease his suffering. He was obviously the apple of his family’s eye, and no wonder. More…
Before laying eyes on him, the nursing staff warned me that John was hinting about leaving the hospital no more than 24 hours after his admission. More…
The Friday morning beginner yoga class started at 10:30. I had worked full-time until my breast cancer diagnosis a couple weeks ago, and until then it was almost impossible to attend this class. More…
I have been providing care for this man since the morning. When he was still alive, writhing and heaving. He looked no different than he does now. More…
James L. Franklin, MD
Hektoen Institute of Medicine Chicago, Illinois
One often reads that these operations were done by “barber surgeons,” but they were performed by surgeons who represented the highest echelons of the medical profession. More…
When I was 55 years old, and had been in the private practice of Internal Medicine and Nephrology for 22 years, my wife Barbara was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time of her diagnosis she already had widespread bony metastases. I took off work to take care of her. More…
We get to the edge. We sometimes fall off, succumbing to disease, accident, or raw nature. If we are lucky, we catch ourselves or someone pulls us back. More…
Doctor, as I have told you many times, it is always good to see you because I feel better the moment I walk into your office. I have just finished writing a short story and I want to tell you about it. More…
Catalina Florina Florescu, PhD
St. Peter’s College, Jersey City, New Jersey
I saw before me a nightmare where bodies lay in a heap. Fixed like statues, their immobility belied their carnal appearance. I asked a nurse, why are these people piled like garbage? More…
