“This healthy young woman and her husband were unable to conceive and tried assisted reproduction. Over a two-year period, she endured seven cycles of egg retrieval and one failed embryo implant before she succeeded in becoming pregnant. In this photo, she is twenty weeks pregnant and never happier. The baby was born in November 2018.”
Confronting a Colleague’s Loss of a Child Read More »
Charm City Steel, the five-piece band, pick up their sticks and in rhythm tap out a fetching tune on their huge steel drums. This is the preamble to a special program to celebrate and remember my mom, who died of advanced dementia at age eighty-seven in my home. The music lifts me as people wander in.
It is Mom’s memorial service, and she asked for this. It was ten years ago out of the blue, between steel drum dance tunes while vacationing together in Maine. She pointed at me from across the village green and said, “I want a steel band at my funeral!” No matter that she never brought up death or dying before or since. At that moment the heavens opened, and she delivered her wish to me. And I said to her, to myself and my daughter Amelia: “Done.”
Why We Had a Steel Band at Mom’s Memorial Service Read More »
The day began in Mom’s room with a 10:00 am conference at Upper Valley Medical Center, west of Columbus, Ohio. In attendance were my ninety-three-year-old mother Joanne (now in her third week of hospitalization), her palliative-care nurse Richard, her Episcopal priest Mother Nancy and myself.
Prayers of Passage Read More »
Mary barely introduces herself before describing her struggles. Married for thirteen years, the mother of two little boys, she complains about her husband’s alcoholism. Her in-laws’ get-togethers revolve around heavy drinking, dancing, and singing, often extending into the next morning. Last weekend, after her husband got fired, she took her boys and slept at her mother’s place.
The Power of Doing Nothing Read More »
Six years ago, I retired early because of serious health problems. I’d worked for decades as a doctor.
Early on, it was difficult for me to ask for and accept help. I was always the one who stepped in, not the one who needed assistance. Well-meaning friends would say, “Let me know if I can do anything.” I was floundering.
With a Little Help from My Friends Read More »
This month, at medical schools across the country, first-year students will officially don the physician’s traditional white coat for the first time.
Keeping the Flame Alive Read More »
“For me, the anatomy lab was an incredibly moving experience. I will forever be grateful to the patients and families who have chosen to donate their bodies to education, and I felt a strong responsibility to learn as much as I could within those walls. In a way, my paintings are a tribute to them. I always found myself lost in thought, imagining the life that was once lived by the donors, and in my paintings I try to bring life to their different organs and systems.”
Floraplasia of the Great Vessels Read More »
Please Give Me a Hug Read More »
My parents spent their lives as givers, not receivers. Buying them a gift that they would graciously accept and use always proved challenging; they, however, never stopped gifting my older brother and me, their grandchildren, and even my paternal grandmother. Whenever I had a problem, my parents always responded with an encouraging “How can we help?” response.
Generations of Givers Read More »
I picked my husband up after work. “Happy birthday!” I said and gave him a quick kiss. “Can we take a short walk? I have something for you.
We walked a few blocks to the arboretum and found a quiet bench to sit on. I handed him a birthday card and watched his face as he read the last words on the page: “I’m pregnant.”
I waited for a reaction–any change of expression–but he just stared at me. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I burst into tears.
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