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Healing Hands

Caregivers’ Expressions on mental wellness

Fine art painting hand painted hands Michelangelo's masterpiece
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artist demographics

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a house and a home: Vignettes in loss ​and memory

Abigail Jeyaraj (she/they)

Essay, 2024


The essay describes my emotions following the death of my father - though a ​welcome relief, as his addiction made it so that he was emotionally reliant on ​me - and how it felt to experience loss in flashes, themed around the house I ​grew up in and the phone. While losing someone you care for can be freeing, it ​is also very crushing, especially if the person was afflicted by addiction. I hope ​that in sharing my story, someone is able to connect their own experiences to ​mine.

I was a child of an alcoholic, and when his addiction had him mentally regress to ​being someone who needed to be cared for, I stepped up, as his daughter. I love ​writing about my experiences, in the hopes that it connects with someone who ​might need that connection.


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recounts of patient encounters:

a brief series of 50 word poems

Amanda Davis (she/her/hers)


I was introduced to fifty word poems in a humanities workshop and the concept stuck ​with me

When I began my clinical rotations is when I realized how significant and impactful ​patient interactions can be both positive and negative ways.


As a way to both unpack those moments and remember the patients I began writing ​fifty word poems as reflections.

The poems are a tool for my mental health as a caretaker because they allow me to ​both sit with my emotions and release them The poems illustrate my mental health ​journey as a caretaker by acknowledging the challenging, sad, frustrating experiences ​that come with being a caretaker and sitting with those feelings. My poems effectively ​are my mental wellness.


I was a medical student. My writing is a creative outlet that allows me to explore the ​humanity in medicine and unpack difficult experiences.


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canto

Elisa A. Garza (she/her/hers)

Poem, 2014


The poem "Canto" draws a parallel. As the caregiver attempts to calm her anxiety ​while listening to the breathing of a sick child, she recalls a peaceful memory with ​similar sounds. The intensity of caregiving allows only a brief respite for the ​caregiver, who must recharge mentally and physically in order to continue. ​Recalling a peaceful moment similar to the sound of the patient's breathing ​provides reassurance, and the rest and positive mental energy the caregiver needs ​to continue.


I have been a maternal caregiver to my children for 20 years. I am a poet with 2 ​published chapbooks and a forthcoming full length collection from Lamar ​University Literary Press.


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Love is a bowl of angel hair pasta

Patricia Marie Guzman (She/Her)

Essay


My work is a short essay that was inspired by my mom's nightly routine of ​packing my lunch while I was rotating through my internal medicine ​clerkship. A simple but profound act of selflessness filled an otherwise ​challenging time in my life with joy and purpose. My work seeks to highlight ​the daunting and often overwhelming road towards becoming a clinician ​and how small acts of kindness can have a profound effect along the ​journey.


Medical student Medical humanities student, aspiring writer


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buddy the turtle

Robert Beaujean

Poem


It is a story of love, companionship, compassion and caring.

It is all about being a truly caring caregiver. It shows that caring matters, that at times in our ​lives, we may need to care for others, and at other times, our fragility will require that ​someone else care for us. This is a circle of companionship and caring.

This is life. Please Be a Buddy to someone today.


I had the opportunity to care for my grandfather on a few occasions. I witnessed the fragility ​of the elderly, yet their resilience. I realized that my grandfather was in a vulnerable state, ​and that the time we spent together gave me a great lesson in respect and wisdom. ​Caregiving is not easy and should be done with love and compassion. I invite you to care ​for someone you LOVE. I consider myself an artist, because since the age of 5, I started to ​write and I discovered that writing is my passion. In another words, writing is my life.


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constellation syndrome

Sophie Schott (she/hers)

Poem


My poem, "Constellation Syndrome," probes at the method and meaning of ​medicine, asking how listening might not only be an act of care, but also an act of ​love. It also explores how language can be used to broaden or close gaps in ​understanding that develop between caregivers and clinicians. Sophie L. Schott is a ​medical student, poet, and researcher at McGovern Medical School. Her writing ​probes at the multidimensional meaning of her academic pursuits and explores ​how the humanities might ameliorate human suffering while illuminating the ​humanizing power of connection, community, and caregiving.


I am a medical student. The experiences described in my poem depict how I am ​learning to care for my patients through the example of others. I am a poet, medical ​student, and researcher.