Cell 2 Soul: The Humane Health Care Blog

Marginal Notes: A Life or Death Decision

Technology can be a curse. If we didn’t have ET tubes and ventilators, life would take its natural course. We have created our own demons, and they constantly come back to taunt us: in this case, six additional months of ventilator dependence, dialysis and a feeding tube before death from heart failure. >>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."

Marginal Notes: Wounded Healers

Henri Nouwen coined the phrase the wounded healer in reference to individuals who have developed the ability to empathize with the sufferings of others through sufferings that they have experienced themselves. >>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 Brink

by Alexandra Godfrey.

"I sense her fear the moment I walk into the room. Perched on the edge of the exam table, my patient teeters on the brink, wavering between stability and instability, presence and absence. Her smile betrays her too. Fleeting and forced, this grin is not an authentic expression of happiness, but rather one of those overzealous attempts to appear content. I smile back at her, effortlessly returning her greeting as I consider the possibilities:...

You will enjoy this fine vignette, and it will inspire some of us, too.  Full piece: Download On the Brink 

Author Bio: Alexandra Godfrey is a second-year physician assistant student at Wayne State University She may be contacted at: ax3316@wayne.edu
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Marginal Notes: Aftershocks

I listened to the initial reports of the devastation caused by the earthquake in Haiti while driving home from work Tuesday evening. Later, I tried to read the lead articles at the New York Times website. I had a great deal of trouble making it through the first several paragraphs. Even at the outset the carnage was too much to comprehend—50,000 to 70,000 feared dead in the worst earthquake to hit the country in 200 years.

 

Today I scanned photographs of bulldozers dropping dead bodies into dump trucks; piles of corpses lying in the streets; faces holding empty buckets up to be filled with fresh water; a bag of IV fluid hung from the branches of a tree infusing into the arm of a woman reclining on a mattress on the grass; faces of pain, faces of grief.  >>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." 

Marginal Notes: Through the Looking Glass

 

“Jackie, stop!” I say in my most authoritative voice.  “Stop it now—stop barking!”

I gather the struggling terrier into my arms and try to calm her down while my wife trucks bags of groceries into the kitchen from her car in the driveway.  Still holding the dog, I walk into the parlor, away from the kitchen commotion, where the dog catches sight of herself in the mirror on the wall above the antique settee.  Immediately she cues in, cocks her head, then raises her tiny black nose to sniff the dog in the mirror.  >>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."  

Doctor, please...

by Sarah Lee (scroll down for Bio and Contact information)

Doctor, Please…
By Sarah Lee   See PDF version (formatting is better): Download Doctor please
 
Doctor, I know that you are busy -
Buzzing through hospital traffic, weaving in and out,
But I'm your patient and I've been patient; 
B r e a t h e      for a minute to feel what I'm all about.
 
Doctor, I know that you went to med school -
Myocardial infarction and ventricular fibrillation
Sound like jtnelxmehwieur paojwelrksjfm;
Don't assume I know and need no explanation.
 
Doctor, I know that you are human -
You [----] up, you make mistakes;
But Doctor I refuse to be your statistic;
Your errors can't be on me. I have too much at stake.
 
Doctor, I know that you feel awkward -
When questioning me if I have sex and if I smoke crack;
But vulnerability and fragility have been our backdrop,
If you don't ask, I'll never look back, never, ever look back…
 
Doctor, I know that you're scared -
Playing God, walking between life and death, that line
Please, Please hold my hand as I slip to sleep,
And promise me life will turn out just fine.
 
Doctor, I know that you are tired -
And I'm just a name on the list for you fill-in.
Look here, Doctor! Welcome to my crisis!
With our rendezvous I'm going all-in.
 
Doctor, I know that you can't hear me -
My pain and suffering won't echo echo echo…
HELP ME ESCAPE FROM MY OWN BODY!
I'm trapped by my illness, sickness is my pseudo!
 
Doctor, I know that you are tired.
Doctor, I know that you are busy.
Doctor, I know that you feel awkward.
Doctor, I know that you can't hear me.
Doctor, please?

Author Bio:  Sarah Lee, a senior at Stanford University, is studying Human Biology, with a focus on Women's Health.  She is particularly interested in establishing women's reproductive rights and fighting sexual violence, both in the United States and abroad. After graduating from Stanford, she would like to pursue degrees in medicine and public health and practice primary care, catering to women and children in urban areas. Hailing from the great city of Seattle, she loves to drink coffee, sing in the rain and explore nature through hiking, running, and backpacking.  You can contact Sarah at: sarahleeATstanford.edu
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Marginal Notes: Voice Recognition

Voice recognition:  we know it when we hear it; we cue into the familiar sound, even though we might not have heard it for quite a while.

All of us can pick out the particular voices of those significant others in our lives:  family, friends, co-workers; radio announcers, TV personalities, politicians.  In that regard each human voice is unique:  voice identity patterns can be demonstrated in the sound laboratory. >>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."