A mother is dying from a tumor in her womb. Her lips are chapped; she can barely eat or drink. The caregiver looks on helplessly, going through the motions of life support, of providing comfort. Then her child enters the room, and shows all who are there what really needs to be done—a simple act of love.
Clinicians are trained to help: to put the patient first, to promote healing. But does anyone ever consider how that professional might be feeling? This brave account details the inner agonies of a physical therapist battling an internal “Her”—one that tormented her, and few around her even knew existed. Through this poem, she thanks those precious few who understood—and helped her “scars become superpowers.”
This poem encapsulates, in real time, the experience of a 3:00am panic attack, brought on by out-of-balance cortisol levels, and who-knows-what-other complicated factors. In this age of ‘fight-or-flight’ reactions that often don’t fit any apparent cause, the poet’s words bring home the struggles faced by many who just want to be able to relax.
Dr. Morgan Kelly recounts just one of her countless profound experiences with patients in the ICU. Her words encourage us to consider life and death; should all those who are clinically dead be brought back to life through technology? This patient didn’t want it, preferring to be back with “my God.” This poem prompts the reader to consider that two truths can exist concurrently: miraculous medicine to save lives and faith in a peace beyond death.
Barbara Huntington offers readers a fascinating chance to experience the workings of a poet’s brain post-stroke. These 13 poems, written as the days play out, move from confusion to blinding clarity and back again. Throughout it all, the poet is sharply aware, watching it all, commenting on it for the world to witness. At one point, he offers a brilliant commentary in ¾ time! This is an experience well worth sharing.
This brief, powerful poem captures the agonizing experience of a frightened hospital patient—anonymous yet on display to strangers, alone in their “silent cries.” Beautifully composed, this masterful piece hits home in a few, raw seconds.
The COVID pandemic highlighted a reality that certain healthcare workers have always faced: as they care for others, they also put themselves at risk. How do you handle knowing you could be harmed by the very profession your heart has called you to join? In this powerful short poem, Katy Giebenhain encapsulates the mad courage it can sometimes take to simply go to work at a medical facility: “It’s the job.”
In this gentle yet heart-rending poem, Dr. Sue Curfman follows the notes of Dvorak’s 9th symphony (‘New World’), 2nd movement, as she pictures her patients in pain, “with whom I am privileged to walk.” As the different instruments rise and fade, she likens them to the struggle toward healing that rehabilitation teams – patient and therapist – experience together. The 2nd movement is available online; you can listen to its opening strains as you experience these words unfolding.
It is important to explore the valuable information from patient poems and a potent example of this insight is evident in Mr. Dick Taylor’s poignant reflection on his experience of suffering a stroke. Certainly no standardized outcome measure could reveal the depths of his emotions like the words of his poem, which allow us an intimate view into his true struggles.
This gentle poem honors a lovely lady—“a hundred birthdays…give or take”—who gave her body to science. As the clinicians dissect, observe, and study, the poet juxtaposes the harsh procedures with softer observations. This lady was loved and cared for. The poem pays homage to a life well-lived, and to a final decision to help others learn.
In a poignant cry of honesty, [poet] takes the reader on a journey inside a mind experiencing crippling anxiety. The poem moves from a vivid portrayal of daily fear toward a gradual englightenment about the nature of the condition, and finally, to a warrior-like acceptance of what anxiety is—and most importantly, what it is not.
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents This poem is dedicated to Doris Armour, MD. Leaving this season lush with life, you’ll connect
From Individuals With Aphasia and Brain Injuries to Poets: How the Book I Don’t Think I Did This Right Came to Be by Kathryn Paulson, Brendan Constantine, and Jerry K. Hoepner, relates how a group of dynamic poets developed out of a few workshops for individuals with stroke-based aphasia and traumatic brain injuries. Starting out as an idea to spur creativity and help participants share their stories, the meetings quickly developed into the Thursday Night Poets group. Their first published work, described here, offers poetry of deep meaning and resonance for anyone who has ever faced a challenge.
In this lovely poem, the author pays tribute to the love that restores the soul when an ordeal afflicts the body. He reflects on the healing presence of caring friends and family throughout the process of mending both the injured body and the deflated spirit.
This beautiful and deeply moving poem focuses on a tiny object in a clinical setting. One day, this toy represents incredible joy and possibility, but the next day it evokes sudden loss and tragedy. The poem ends on a somber note, reflecting on the continuous strength of those who care for patients in hospitals.
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Hispanic, overweight,lonely, and insecurefrom eight to sixteen,I’m not sure? The doctor said no morerice or tortillas …WHAT —
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Coach scowls, calculates. Cue the substitute. Cut straight to commercial break. About the Author(s) Woods Nash, MPH, PhD
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Quietly I rest, but solitude closes in.No noise is noisier than no noise at all.I’m fading, blanched white
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents I packed up and headed toward Sumpter after googling weird shit to do in Wisconsin within 50 miles
This beautiful poem by “a mother on a mission to help families and caregivers navigate life with differently-abled kids” presents the powerful story of Noah Williams. Noah lives an extraordinary life as an artist, athlete, and public speaker, as he deals daily with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and visual impairment. As Naomi’s words flow through the poem, they detail his lifelong struggle, and the love of people who join in his joy of living and help him navigate his days. “The best that is in him keeps unfolding into the spaces so many help open and hold.”
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents My husband was so strong, athletic, caring. I fell in love with him when I witnessed how gently
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Rock-hobbled pace: praiseproud, profane. Slow strolls aroundeach missing mountain. About the Author(s) Woods Nash, MPH, PhD Woods Nash,
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Fingers make our lives go aroundThey snap and tap out daily soundsThey wave on a fetal ultrasoundAnd lower
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents You turned the broken door handle,went inside, and here we are. The tools I have to help are
In this expressive poem, Dr. Diana Early gives an authentic voice to the experiences of parents of children born with Down syndrome. Drawing upon her research into the lives of families, she chronicles “the fight” these parents endure to gain what others take for granted.
Tiffany Bystra reflects on the peculiar path of her illness journey, which has led to a trail of recovery that feels both disappointing and thrilling. In this powerful and humbling poem, she provides rich insight into how it feels to taste both the sweetness and the tartness of life in the same moment.
In this series of three striking, spare, and emotionally authentic poems, Marta Tymchenko provides thoughtful insights into three different perspectives on a clinical encounter. What is lost in translation when a loved one needs to interpret thoughts between the patient and the doctor?
In this installment of the Profiles in Professionalism series, we interview Professor of Ethics at Emory University School of Medicine and one of the founding editors of the Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation, Bruce Greenfield, PT, PhD, FNAP. In this interview, Dr. Greenfield discusses the intimate connections between professionalism and ethics and how he works with students to better understand their own core values alongside the core values of the profession.
In this powerful poem, Dustin Willis reflects on the frustration a parent feels while seeking answers and compassion from doctors who give too little time, thought, and care to his son’s complex needs. He wishes for change in this broken healthcare system. This is a heartfelt appeal that keeps needing to be made.
Inspired by reflections on the current Covid-19 pandemic and recalling AMA debates over the “duty to treat” HIV and AIDS patients in the 1980s, Sophie Schott has crafted a poem that challenges us not to repeat history by refusing to treat marginalized patients. “History of Present Illness” questions whether clinicians should be guided by personal preferences or by a higher calling.
Kirsten Woodend considers the space between being “broken” and being “whole,” when the patient’s road to recovery will never end in full rehabilitation. She writes of the difficult struggle to choose between “acceptance” and constant striving toward “recovery.” In this poignant poem, she finds herself at a fork in this unique road.
With observant humor and a brisk rhythm, Michele Mekel’s poem evokes the memory of an awkward encounter in a waiting room, where a doctor initially dismissed her at first sight. “Office Visit” serves as a reminder to healthcare professionals not to make snap judgments and underestimate their clients.
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Beleaguered but not brokenShe dons once againHer foreboding regalia–pandemic paraphernalia An unglamorous gownHiding human formCuffed with glovesThat
Julia Chevan leads us into her experience of a concussion through her moving and intimate poem, revealing the challenge of recognizing a new reality on the road to recovery.
In this exquisite poem, Sophie L. Schott conveys the language that envelops a mother and her infant son, surrounded by complex medical equipment and imagining another narrative, a life not “seen through the telescope of sickness.”
Interpreting poems written by renowned poet Ted Kooser in a Nebraskan winter in 1998, his friend Amy Haddad highlights the beauty of the human spirit when faced with life-threatening challenges. Kooser wrote the poems on his two-mile walks before dawn as he recovered from surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation for tongue and neck cancer in 1998. Compact and powerful, they show how one creative mind forged a bit of order in the “chaos” of recovery.
In this artfully crafted poem, Jamie Fleshman makes a strong distinction between the shallow demands of sympathy and the far deeper mutual understanding that evolves from genuine empathy. She speaks authentically from her own experience, giving moving, useful instruction to those who want to come alongside.
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents The doctor observes.My son’s green-marbled eyes peerup at her. His kitten lips squirm,open, and leaden consonantsstripped of vowels
Amanda LaLonde, PT, DPT, GCS shares an original poem that captures the feelings of frightened, defiant patients in an impersonal healthcare system. In her author commentary, she then presents a challenge to herself and her colleagues to return humility, humanity, and empathy to healthcare.
In her poem “The Game,” Anju Kanwar marks the slow progress of time one experiences when haunted by painful thoughts and memories, in the early-morning hours of solitude following a loss.
Vivid, sensorial reflections–of sight, of sound, of touch–create an intimately familiar and entirely unique lyric contemplation on memory and an imagined life-changing injury in Bruce H. Greenfield’s “Imprisoned.”
Through a carefully constructed and thoughtful poem, Michael J. Leach, PhD, explores the tumultuous life and art of Frida Khalo revealing the tremendous strength that underlies this artist’s work.
English doctoral student Joe Fritsch provides an introductory look into the complex visual poetics of Larry Eigner (1926-1996), a poet with cerebral palsy, who developed his artistic practice over a lifetime.
Dr. Jenifer Markley examines how the poetry of John O’Donohue challenges healthcare workers to reassess their interactions with suffering “at the intersection of the sacred with the profane.”
British researchers Dr. Vinette Cross and colleagues bring a poetic voice to the experiences of patients with chronic low back pain and their family members, creating a performance that bears witness to the frustration, sadness and resolve of these individuals.
Struggling with severe aphasia after her stroke, Yvette Warren offers a truly powerful poetic expression of her journey and reminds us of the strength in silence.
Poetry Section Editor Marilyn McEntyre revisits the classic Robert Frost and challenges readers to use Frost’s words to reflect on the way we interact with our patients.
Zoher Kapasi’s uses poetry to respond to India’s stark healthcare inequality in the 1980s while calling attention to the role perspective plays in the way we perceive ourselves and others.
Veteran poet Hugh Suggs uses his craft to find meaning in suffering and offer hope through the healing language of poetry.
JHR’s inaugural poet is Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey, who reflects that her own journey towards poetry began with memory – a desire to hold onto what was being lost. Taking us deeply into those feelings, her poem Give and Take describes her great-aunt Sugar’s experience of Alzheimer’s disease and how she was “losing her to her memory loss.”
In Dr. Marilyn McEntyre’s article “Why a Poem in a Place Like This,” she reminds us of how poetry differs from prose, and her article serves as an affirmation for those of us who attempt to dabble in poetry writing as a reflective practice within our clinical care.
In Dr. Jim Carey’s poem, Cadaver Anatomy – Absorbing Humanity, his words urge us to look beyond the scholarship and past the muscles and ligaments to the person and life that once lived within the body: “Past your science / Past our machinery / Seize our stories / Uphold our soul” so that, “In awe, we learn anatomy / Higher, we learn humanity.”
Dr. Marilyn McEntyre further expands on the impact of poetry for patients in her book, “Patient Poets: Illness from the Inside Out.” She gently encourages us to explore the valuable information we can learn from patient poems not gleaned from our typical clinical evaluation.
The power of poetry surfaces from several authors’ perspectives. Dr. Amy Haddad, currently the President-Elect for the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities and a published poet, shares her poem “At Rehab.” Her words and her reflection remind us of the door poetry opens to truly understanding others.
A mother is dying from a tumor in her womb. Her lips are chapped; she can barely eat or drink. The caregiver looks on helplessly, going through the motions of life support, of providing comfort. Then her child enters the room, and shows all who are there what really needs to be done—a simple act of love.
Clinicians are trained to help: to put the patient first, to promote healing. But does anyone ever consider how that professional might be feeling? This brave account details the inner agonies of a physical therapist battling an internal “Her”—one that tormented her, and few around her even knew existed. Through this poem, she thanks those precious few who understood—and helped her “scars become superpowers.”
This poem encapsulates, in real time, the experience of a 3:00am panic attack, brought on by out-of-balance cortisol levels, and who-knows-what-other complicated factors. In this age of ‘fight-or-flight’ reactions that often don’t fit any apparent cause, the poet’s words bring home the struggles faced by many who just want to be able to relax.
Dr. Morgan Kelly recounts just one of her countless profound experiences with patients in the ICU. Her words encourage us to consider life and death; should all those who are clinically dead be brought back to life through technology? This patient didn’t want it, preferring to be back with “my God.” This poem prompts the reader to consider that two truths can exist concurrently: miraculous medicine to save lives and faith in a peace beyond death.
Barbara Huntington offers readers a fascinating chance to experience the workings of a poet’s brain post-stroke. These 13 poems, written as the days play out, move from confusion to blinding clarity and back again. Throughout it all, the poet is sharply aware, watching it all, commenting on it for the world to witness. At one point, he offers a brilliant commentary in ¾ time! This is an experience well worth sharing.
This brief, powerful poem captures the agonizing experience of a frightened hospital patient—anonymous yet on display to strangers, alone in their “silent cries.” Beautifully composed, this masterful piece hits home in a few, raw seconds.