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health

A Tale of Two Doctors

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A Tale of Two Doctors

"But from my perspective as the patient, the doctor who was about to place a piece of titanium inside my body came across as rude, unmoving, and generally unkind."

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The New Eugenics?

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The New Eugenics?

"The autonomy of the mother to make her own choices about her body is important, but the value our society designates to individuals in the genetic minority is equally important and deserves more attention than it currently has."

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VSED: A Dignified Death?

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VSED: A Dignified Death?

"I will simply argue that the current arguments in favor of VSED do not adequately differentiate it from other forms of hastening death, such as suicide and physician-assisted suicide (PAS), and should face the same opposition that commonly comes with those options."

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At Least I Don't

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At Least I Don't

The moment is so locked into your brain that you can’t forget. If you sit by yourself for too long or dwell on it too much, your mind winds back. At this point, you have a storage locker of memories about this moment in particular. Usually the mental rewind happens in passing, having nothing to do with the conversation of the moment. You can’t seem to pinpoint anything about why these casual moments make you remember.

You were sitting in her room, discussing the different stresses of post-graduation. She pointed to her long history of anxiety. It made her more nervous than the others. How was she to deal with the pressure?

“At least I don’t have what you have.” No remorse in the comment. It hurt. You internally felt a pang that brought a roar to your eyes. They burned. They still do, even now. She was nervous for her future, but at least it wasn’t yours. Even in the moments of reflection, your eyes well up. You sit there writing, but so far, nobody has noticed.

“Yeah, don’t worry. Everything will fall into place for you.”  

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No Problems Selling Organs

No Problems Selling Organs

"According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 119,849 people are currently waiting for an organ transplant, but for most it is only hoping." 

Hippocrates' Decree

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Hippocrates' Decree

Today I give myself up to Humanity.

I offer my life, my entire existence - for the purpose of aiding other lives.

So that the strong remain strong and the weak and small find shelter under my wings.

    

I resign myself to being a humble supporting character in a play,

an architect of a prestigious town, even the combat medic on the field of

War.

    Quiet, silent, and unnoticed. Enabling others to achieve their dreams.

    I give myself so that others can fight their battles

    While I heal them. The war is long, injuries will accrue.

But I promise myself to live for them.

To provide my support: mental, physical, spiritual.

    So long as I “first do no harm.”

Today I surrender my energy, life and soul

To the healthier future generation of tomorrow.

    For when there exists peace and my role considered decrepit and useless

                Only then is my mission accomplished

                And I may rest at last.

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Yesterday

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Yesterday

Radiant mother, bespeckled with sweat

Will vaginally deliver, barring no threat

“Through my blood proudly come to your start

I’ll always love you, till death do us part”

 

One hour pushing, doctors mention

C section

Two hours of pushing, doctors threaten

C section

C section

Three hours. Mamma has strength. Baby is fine.

C section

C section

C section

 

Risk for infection demands dissection

“Time is what we need”, nurse disagrees

Mom cries, “my body is not my own”

Doctor’s decisions aren’t crafted to please

 

Of course.

She was trained to say no.

Avoid death and lawsuits; a quid pro quo.

Meds, curtain, disconnect mind from torso.

 

Surgeons stained satin, splatter bleached floor

Uterus outside chest, refugee in a war

of knives and sutures. Baby’s once home

bloody, battered, bandaged. Glory dethroned.

 

Same moment

Frozen in time, beautifully grotesque

 

Mother holds baby girl close to her chest

Tired baby sleeps on tired moms warm breast

Father, tear stained cheeks sing ineffable bliss

Heart full, gives his little angel a kiss

 

Radiant mother, bespeckled with sweat

Has delivered despite some grave threat

“Through my blood you’ve proudly come to your start

And I will love you, till death do us part

 

 

Cesarean sections in the United States have risen to 50 percent in the past two decades. We continue to have the highest risk of maternal and neonatal mortality in developed countries.

 

Osterman, Michelle, and Joyce Martin. "Trends in Low-risk Cesarean Delivery in the United States, 1990–2013." National Vital Statistics Reports 63, no. 6 (November 5, 2014): 1-16. Accessed October 23, 2016. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr63/nvsr63_06.pdf.

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