Historical Reflections: The Medical Heritage Center Blog

Voices in Humanism

Holiday
We spent two days 
masked
apart
eating soup at opposite
ends of the dining room
table, walking over
brown leaves carpeting
the sidewalks of our neighborhood
and it would have seemed
ordinary, mundane,
I might not
have noticed it
but for how quickly
your eyes welled
with tears when I broke down
for a moment,
to allow you
to hug me goodbye.

Jessica Rutsky, MD
Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellow
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Voices in Humanism Board

Voices in Humanism

The Bench at Beal
Since I began painting in watercolor five years ago, I have discovered that it centers me and provides a timeless state of concentration, one in which problems global and personal seem to diminish. It was a most useful outlet during the many months of the pandemic, when sleepless nights, tortured dreams and daytime worries seemed to take center stage. Long walks in beautiful places had a similar calming effect, and this bench in a public garden captured both my heart and imagination. Being surrounded by the re-emergence of spring with its bounty of blossoms was a reminder of the circle of the seasons — and of life.

Jeanie Croope
Media: Watercolor on Paper
Artist, Photographer, Blogger, Community Volunteer
themarmeladegypsy.blogspot.com
WKAR Public Broadcasting, Retired
Friend of Voices in Humanism

Voices in Humanism

Morning Walk in Spring

Nong Inpanbutr, DVM, MS, PhD
Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine
The Ohio State University
Photographer

Voices in Humanism

Bryce Canyon

The Bryce Amphitheater, covered with a layer of fresh snow, as seen from Inspiration Point. The limestone pillars (hoodoos) have been formed over thousands of years by ice, water and gravity in the Charon Formation. They are unique to Bryce Canyon National Park.
“Our family loves to backpack and the Bryce Canyon trip included hiking in the Painted Desert National Park, backpacking rim to rim in the Grand Canyon, hiking Zion National Park and the Capital Reef National Park. We would encourage others to visit our national parks, especially in the Southwest.”

Holly Cronau, MD
OSU College of Medicine, Class of 1985
Associate Professor of Clinical Family Medicine
OSU College of Medicine Distinguished Educator Award, 2006
Ohio Academy of Family Physicians Educator of the Year, 2009
Photographer, Voices in Humanism

Voices in Humanism

Who says Crayola is just for kids?
“The Smoky Mountains were the inspiration for this drawing.
My recent hiking trip brought me back to my Crayolas.”

Rana Elgazzar, MD
OSU College of Medicine Class of 2021
PGY-1 Internal Medicine
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Voices in Humanism

Cover Me
Digital drawing made with Apple Pencil on iPad.

Nikol Mladkova, MD, PhD, MPH
Resident PGY-4
Department of Radiation Oncology
Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital & Richard J. Solove Research Institute

Voices in Humanism

Swan & the Folks
Wings fluttering the air with stealth depart,
She froze, deciphering the sound she heard.
The air is trembling, precisely like her heart…
Surely it’s nothing! Merely a bat or bird.
A sudden clench, with aim; unforgiving
Is this for real? Some short-circuited dream?
It’s over! By Jove, it’s just beginning!
She collapses, yet no-one minds her scream.
Conceived with indifference, it will bestow
Inflamed breaths, agony and endless grief
On strangely veiled faces.
In the middle,
The world is asleep, passing days filled with woe.
Metamorphosed bugs promise wry relief
To fractured souls, and her own acquittal.

Nikol Mladkova, MD, PhD, MPH
Resident PGY-4
Department of Radiation Oncology
Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital & Richard J. Solove Research Institute

Voices in Humanism

Lakeside Daisies
“The Lakeside Daisy is one of Ohio’s most spectacular wildflowers. This long-lived perennial grows where few others an, on nearly barren limestone bedrock in full sunlight. All the flower heads track the sun across the sky in unison.”
-Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve, Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Holly Cronau, MD
OSU College of Medicine, Class of 1985
Associate Professor of Clinical Family Medicine
OSU College of Medicine Distinguished Educator Award, 2006
Ohio Academy of Family Physicians Educator of the Year, 2009
Photographer, Voices in Humanism

Voices in Humanism

Tahquamenon
Somewhere in the North
beyond forests untouched
past rugged coasts
far from islands standing tall
amidst rippling cerulean aquatic fields
lies a cascade
a cataract that runs red
like the life-blood that unites all of mankind

Crossing the Ether
You never knew me, I never knew you.
Between us lie leagues of vast blue waves and an endless field of stars.
But when I hear a melody carried by your voice
For one second
I rest beneath Eastern skies
With the wind whispering words of comfort in my ears.
Dedicated to the artists, poets, actors, and musicians who inspire me to
find humanity in little things every day.

Bhageerathi “Bhagee’ Ganesan
OSU College of Medicine Class of 2025
B. S. Biomedical Science, OSU, 2021
Public Relations Coordinator, Bowen Circle

Voices in Humanism

Fawntastic!

I came upon this lovely fawn nestled down in the pachysandra that covers our back yard. Its mother was nowhere in sight. When this first happened several years ago, we worried that the mother had abandoned the fawn. Upon checking, we found that this is entirely normal.

National Wildlife Federation Blog:
“Finding a Fawn: What To Do—Lone Fawns are Not Abandoned”
There is a strong probability that you did not find an abandoned fawn. Female deer hide their newborn fawns in tall grass or brush and move some distance away to feed to avoid drawing predators to their offspring. With the proliferation of deer in suburban areas, sometimes this happens right in our own yards. The fawn simply waits in hiding until its mother returns. Soon, the fawns will be strong enough to follow the does and run from predators, and they no longer need to spend hours alone in hiding. Though it seems that they are vulnerable, these young fawns are not totally helpless. Their spotted pelts look like dappled sunlight on the forest floor and offer great camouflage. They do not have strong scent that would attract predators. Fawns are also programmed to keep totally still and quiet when hiding while their mother forages. The combination of the physical attributes and the behavior of both does and fawns are remarkably successful at limiting depredation at such a vulnerable time.

Laurence B. Stone, MA
Retired Director of the Ohio Judicial College
Graphic Designer: Voices in Humanism
Linda’s Greatest Fan