Cell 2 Soul: The Humane Health Care Blog

Marginal Notes: The Grace of Gratitude

In her book The Gift of Thanks:  The Roots and Rituals of Gratitude, Margaret Visser examines what gratitude is and how it functions in our lives.  “Gratitude is always a matter of paying attention,” Ms. Visser observes, “deliberately beholding and appreciating the other.” 

Humility is a prerequisite to being genuinely grateful.  If we are to become humble, we must learn to esteem others more highly than ourselves.

One afternoon this past week three patients appeared on my schedule for physical examinations.  The first was a 10-year-old boy.  His father suffers from paragangliomatosis, a genetic condition in which tumors arise from neuroendocrine tissue in the body. >>more

 

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

Good Old-fashioned Medicine

Sixty years ago, W. Eugene Smith, eulogized the old-style doctor in his iconic photo-essay of Ernest Ceriani, the family doctor of Kremmeling, Colorado.  Today's caring physician is likely to be a retired old-school physician with skills honed by years of diligent practice. 

Susan Kaplan shares with us a harrowing medical (mis)adventure.  Reading it will be enlightening and may well help you, a patient, friend or famiiy member lost in the country of illness.  Her story is a tribute to the intuition of a caring physician who listened when others were rushed and formulaic.

"As I pulled into our driveway that summer evening at the conclusion of my bike ride home from work, I felt a sudden stabbing pain in my right chest. Climbing the stairs to my second floor bedroom, I began to feel light-headed.  I was breathing in and out rapidly but the air didn't seem to stay in my lungs and I began to panic that I might be having a heart attack..."  So begins

Full "Good Old-fashioned Medicine:" Download OldFashMed

Sue Kaplan may be reached at:  sue.kaplan@post.harvard.edu

Marginal Notes: Streets of Philadelphia

Back in my room on the 14^th floor of the hotel I stood at the window and looked down on the gleaming streets of the city.  I thought about the man I had seen slumped over a makeshift cardboard sign on which was scrawled one word:  “Hungry.”  A tangled mass of black hair emanated from the back of his stocking cap, his coat was marred with grease stains, his ankles showed white between the tattered cuffs of his trousers and the tops of his dirty sneakers.  When I dropped a few coins into the plastic bowl in his lap, he barely stirred. In thirty years the streets of Philadelphia haven’t changed much. >>more

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

Willamette Morning at the Brown Brink Breaks

Julianne Anderson-Mann and her husband, Britton Mann, are studying dermatology and Chinese medicine respectively in Portland, Oregon.  Early winter sunrises in the Pacific Northwest can be spectacular, and they recently sent us these dawn photos from the Willamette River.  Viewing them, brought to mind some great lines of G.M. Hopkins:

O morning, o'er the brown brink eastward springs
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent world eastward
breaks with warm breast and ah! bright wings.  (see "God's Grandeur")   

 

You may contact them at Lili and Britton.

Marginal Notes: Jabberwocky

Jabberwocky is perhaps the best nonsense poem written in the English language.  Author Lewis Carroll included it in his children’s book, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There.  In the poem Carroll makes liberal use of portmanteau, the blending of two or more words (and their meanings) into one.

On an initial reading, many of Carroll’s words baffle the mind.  What actions, for instance, do the verbs “gyre” and “gimble” signify, or the adjective “frumious”?  Thankfully, Carroll himself offered a few definitions to enable readers to decipher various phrases. >>more

 

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

Jane Austen, Paul Farmer and the Medical Student

At a recent conference at McGill, Nora Hutchinson, a second year medical student gave a moving presentation on how Pride and Prejudice and the Paul Farmer bio Mountains Beyond Mountains have inspired her in her journey from student to doctor.

Emily Dickinson wrote:  "The soul selects her own Society/ Then shuts the door."  Nora, in the company of Jane Austen and Paul Farmer, has chosen invaluable and important mentors.

We think you will enjoy reading her brief essay. Download Nora

You may contact Nora at:  NH Email

Marginal Notes: A Pig in a Poke

 

I was tickled pink to learn that scientists have succeeded in sequencing the genome of the pig.

 

According to a recent NPR piece, the DNA sequence comes from a single Duroc pig, one of five major breeds used in pork production.  By comparing the genome of a domestic pig to that of wild ones, scientists hope to isolate and study regions of the genome that contribute to behavior and disease resistance.

 

One surprise thus far is that the structure and sequence of the porcine genome seem to be closely related to the human genome—similarities are much more apparent than scientists had previously suspected. >>more

 

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."

On The Seashore

From Tagore's Gitanjali

 

On the seashore of endless worlds children meet. The infinite sky is motionless overhead and the restless water is boisterous. On the seashore of endless worlds the children meet with shouts and dances.

They build their houses with sand and they play with empty shells. With withered leaves they weave their boats and smilingly float them on the vast deep. Children have their play on the seashore of worlds.

They know not how to swim, they know not how to cast nets. Pearl fishers dive for pearls, merchants sail in their ships, while children gather pebbles and scatter them again. they seek not for hidden treasures, they know not how to cast nets.

The sea surges up with laughter and pale gleams the smile of the sea beach. Death-dealing waves sing meaningless ballads to the children, even like a mother while rocking her baby's cradle. The sea plays with children, and pale gleams the smile of the sea beach.

On the seashore of endless worlds children meet. Tempest roams in the pathless sky, ships get wrecked in the trackless water, death is abroad and children play. On the seashore of endless worlds is the great meeting of children.

Another Dream

Frank Cavano, a retired psychiatrist, writes poetry when moved by his own life experiences or by those of his patients. His poems and short stories speak to what he has learned about the healing process. They emphasize the importance of being there for those who are hurting, the importance of non-judgmental listening and the key role the Spirit can play in healing.  You may reach him at: frankcavano@hargray.com

Another Dream

drowning, drowning in this dream she sought another
another dream absent of black roses and the twenty-five
hours the sixty-one minutes and the single second that
strangled hope dragging the tragic past into a future
now made of that past that blackened rose memory of
loss which had made of her life a Dali-Bosch painting.

clinging, clinging the barnacle of grief was her solitary
rudder through storms she hardly noticed except for the
rain pouring from swollen, reddened, handerkerchiefed
eyes, the rain still feeding the blackened rose memory
until finally, finally and as if by accident she brushed
into a gentle man whose strong arms held her fast in the
present and there the past receded just enough for her to
smile and with her heart paint for herself another dream.

Another Dream:  Download Another Dream

The Third Presence:

One week had now passed since the tragic loss of his daughter, Julie. Dressing for work this morning, Jonathan, a tear-stained automaton, moved from one task to another until he was “ready” to face his first day back at work since the accident. The steps on the stairway made no discernible sound as he pounded them on his way down to the first floor where he kissed Rachel quickly and headed for the garage. What words could possibly suffice in the face of her loss, their loss?  Download Third Presence

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Marginal Notes: Requiem for a Flower

 

 Sixteen years ago on my desk it appeared:
A gift from my parents
To celebrate my new position,
A fresh chapter in my medical career—
A peace lily plant, young and tender,
With one newly formed white flower. >>more

Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years.  His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."