Journal
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at 4:21 pm
This is a must see movie. The Oscars are over and given that many of those nominated were of a violent nature, take time now to see The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. It is amazing both in the story and the filming.
The film is taken from a book of the same title and is a true story. Jean Dominique Bauby was a 42 year old editor of Elle in France when he was stricken with a massive brain stem stroke. The film begins while he is at a rehab hospital awakening from his coma. It soon beomces apparent that the only muscles he can move are his right eyelid and those in charge of eyeball movement. The movie is filmed as if you are seeing what Mr. Bauby sees. That is, a very restrictive visual field, almost a tunnel limited to his right side.
Thanks to two very dedicated therapists, a system is devised for him to communicate by blinking. After some time spent in darkness and despair, he finally decides he will write about his
illness and recovery. The resulting book became critically aclaimed and fodder for this movie filmed by Julian Schnable.
It is one of the most uplifting films I have seen. Not because Mr. Bauby experiences a miraculous recovery, but because of the way he moves from despair to creating a life for himself.
I often wonder how I can help patients who are depressed because of illness. What is that moment when a patient goes from darkness to light and how do I help them get there? How does a patient choose life? Where does optimism come from? Usually there is no angelic revelation and in this movie, there seems to be a tiny moment when Mr. Bauby has a shift in his attitude. It is subtle and some of the influences are due to the people in his life. Ultimately the decision was his own, as it is with each one of us. The change must always come from within.
Happy New Year
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 11:30 am
A Happy New Year to you all. I so enjoy a new year. The chance to start fresh, be renewed, look ahead. I for one love resolutions. I used to makes lots. And I have to say when I really worked on them, I became a better person, more insightful, had more clarity. Now I just settle on a few pertinent ones. They are less general and more specific. And while I make them with the entire year in mind, I only work on them a week or a month at at time.
A recurring theme for me is using my time effectively. There seems to be so little of it - time, that is. There are definitely more roles than there is time. I try to parse out increments of time for each role at some time in the week. My major roles include daughter of God, wife, mother, physician, friend, daughter, artist, reader and pet owner.
It is essential that I spend time with God each day. I do this mostly by reading scripture, praying, journaling and comtemplating. I don't do all of these each day. Sometimes, I will take a day and devote it to the Lord and practice each of these disciplines. It's a little retreat for me.
Being wife, mother and daughter takes a good piece of time to do it well. Quality time is good, but I have found that simply spending time is better. I just like being with my husband, sons and parents and pets. They are a lot of fun and keep me from taking life too seriously.
Being a physician dominates most of my time. I usually spend 10 hours a day, four days a week at the office. But I never seem to be far from my patients. Most patients respect my days off and evenings. Occasionally someone misses the boundaries and feels they can call me at any time of the day. Physicians are just like anyone else, we like to sleep in, have hobbies and be with our families. I am always responsive to emergencies and I try to be as available as I can for other urgent needs. Trying to find balance in my week is the resolution I work on the hardest.
My favorite leisure activities are working on my art and reading. My ideal day is spending half of it reading and half of it doing art. I love reading because I can loose myself in someone else's story. I ususally read a book a week. My art usually takes a back seat to everything else. It is a bit more time comsuming so I feel like I have to have a bigger chunk of time for it. But it does refresh me when I make the time.
So this year I resolve to balance my time, take care of my health, honor my needs and trust God implicitly. I will let you know how it is going.
Thank you!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at 10:39 am
Thanks to all of you for your kind thoughts, patience and prayers during my recent medical procedure. I had a radio-frequency ablation to the cervial median nerves for pain relief from chronic pain. I am feeling well and back in the swing things. I have a tiny bit of residual pain in my shoulder which will pass in the next 6 weeks.
I empathize so much with those of you suffering from chronic pain. It is exhausting on a daily basis and prevents you from enjoying and living a full life. Please know I am here to help you and keep you in my prayers.
Book Recommendation
Friday, August 17, 2007 at 11:17 am
Need a good laugh? Then The Sex Lives of Cannibals is for you. Written by J. Maarten Troost, the title is quite deceiving. It is actually a travel journal from the two years Troost spent in the Pacific equatorial islands of Kiribati. His fiance had a job there and he went along to help her and to write the great American novel.
Troost's account of their stay on this very hot and primative island is laugh out loud funny. The challenges they endured and the local cultural morays were hilarious. Mostly it is Troost's writing style and wit that make the story so enjoyable. A good dose of local history makes it informative, too.
If I had a copy of this book to give to everyone I know, I would do so with gusto. It's a gift of good cheer.
Seller beware!
Thursday, August 2, 2007 at 11:10 pm
I just want to alert my readers to a problem I had with a store in Denver called On the Block Auction. A family member used its services to sell an item on Ebay. It turned out that the item that it sold as a "final sale, as is" purchase, the representative Cindy actually allowed the buyer to return, thus losing my family member $1000s. On top of that she didn't even notify my family member until a month later when he went in to the store to find out why it was taking so long to get his check from her. She said it was returned and offered no explanation. She intended to post the item again later. He asked for the item back and she said we owed her fees, which in truth, he agreed to in the contract we signed. However, because she failed in securing the sale, we felt she should waive the fees.
Instead she hung up my my family member, myself and my husband when we phoned her three times and physically through me out of her store.
My family finally picked up the item and paid the fees because we were afraid Cindy at the On the Block Auction would damage it in some way.
Cindy lied to us, tried to avoid us, bullied us and defaulted on the contract.
We still don't know why she allowed the return. I just want to warn you never to use On the Block Auction for selling on Ebay. It's a mean-spirited and unethical place.
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