Cell 2 Soul: The Humane Health Care Blog

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."

Puja's Pandemic Perspective

August 31, 2009  

My student email at the University of Colorado at Boulder now has numerous emails regarding the pandemic nature of H1N1 virus. Our teachers have been given new rules to accommodate students who contract the virus and have to miss classes.

On the first day of class every professor tells us to not come to class if we have a fever of 99.5 F. or higher.  My school week ends on Thursday, I came home and gathered with some friends to start off the weekend early.  I started coughing non-stop and felt very tired.  I had recently traveled to Maine and Minnesota and thought that perhaps the journey from East Coast to Colorado to Minnesota and now back to Colorado was at fault.  Or was it my last week’s fasting of about 30 hours with no food and water in honor of the Nepalis festival Teej, a festival for women?  To read more... Download H1N1 Colorado

Puja and her husband, have recovered and are now well.  They have just battled the first blizzard of the season with two - three feet of snow. We wish them well as they forge their lives and careers in the shadow of the Rockies.

Marginal Notes: Casting pearls

 

Like a tsunami wave, the swine flu has descended upon us .  Office telephones ring incessantly; patients appear in our waiting room in droves.  Hurriedly, I scribble a note in a patient's chart and think:  How will I ever get through this day, let alone the next five months?  At times like these I wonder whatever possessed me to opt for a career in primary care medicine.  >>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: Where a story begins

 

Where does a story begin?

 

It begins thirty-four years ago when a young man steps off a bus in a small village on the northwest coast of Spain, and a young woman emerges from the shadows of a doorway to meet him; and they walk arm in arm down a rain-drenched cobblestone street underneath an umbrella.  >>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: One of the Club

 

My daughter’s fiancé, who is now my new son-in-law, invited me to a golf outing the day before their wedding.  Although it pained me deeply to admit it, the last time I had played golf was twenty-some years ago—and that was the miniature variety.  With the exception of one disastrous afternoon attempt at chip and putt as an adolescent, the only other time I had ever set foot on a conventional golf course was in high school when I ran cross-country.  “Sure,” I choked.  “I’d be happy to come.”  >>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."

Chicken Skin

In Hawaii, they have and expression for something that gives one goosebumps.  It can be spooky or just a bit surreal.  We heard a "chicken skin" tale about health care on Story Corps today.

Listen to:  Strange Encounters with a Hospitalist. 

Reunion with the Dead

by Richard Sobel

As I entered the room I was suddenly confronted with every patient who had died under my care in the 26 years I had served the community. They appeared in order, the first person I hardly knew: he died shortly after I arrived in the village as the community physician, but the last to appear had died just a month previously. I had known this vivacious young girl since her birth 18 years previously. Surely, if this were a dream, it would be the nightmare of any clinician even if the treatment of each patient had been beyond reproach.

(Photo of Revivim settlers, Life Magazine, 1948)

Read here for full text: Download ReunionSobel