Voices in Humanism
Pandemic Still Life
Took this photo in April 2020 as it captured a still life that embodied what it was like early in the pandemic with empty shelves in the grocery stores and daily TV briefings.
Mary Beth Fontana, MD
Photographer
Faculty Emeritus, Cardiovascular Medicine
OSU College of Medicine Professor or the Year 2005
Inaugural Last Lecture 2017
Voices in Humanism
Emily Evans, BSN, RN
This is Fine
Emily Evans returned to work last Monday and when she did, the welcome she received moved her to tears. The tears came again in this telling.
“I was gone 40 days and 40 nights. It was practically biblical. First, we were in quarantine exposed to Covid by a family member, then my 11-year-old daughter contracted Covid, then I did. When I returned to work Monday and before she even had her coat off, put her stuff down, or grabbed a cup of coffee, my co-worker, Sarah Szczepanik, arrived and said, ‘Where’s Emily?’ She found me and hugged me tight.”
Emily is an Oncology Nurse for The Ohio State University Hospitals. When she speaks of the support she has received she pauses, breathes, then wipes her eyes.
The Bing Crosby character, Father O’Malley, in the old movie, “The Bells of St. Mary’s,” said to Ingrid Berman as the nun, “If you need anything, dial ‘O for O’Malley’.” Emily has her own understanding “O’Malley,” her colleague Dr. David O’Malley, who has been a pillar of support for her. “I couldn’t have weathered this and all without him,” she explained.
Dedication to her patients is paramount for this 34-year-old nurse and when she speaks of them, some whose time on earth grows short, her emotions get the most of her. One of the patients going through chemo has a child now with Covid. Another patient’s husband died alone from Covid. Emily discovered that a patient beginning a trial treatment this coming week lives in the house next door to Emily’s beloved deceased grandmother’s old house. She hopes Grandma Dorothy will help that patient from above, as she has helped Emily through the years.
“In the beginning of the epidemic I put this meme [below] up in our office. See? flames all around and we are just carrying on as if things were fine. This detached, yet still deeply caring attitude, helps us function and not be overwhelmed.”
“In the early Covid days,” Emily continued, “for three months, as a precaution, my kids had to be away with my parents and other relatives. I would go to work, come home and break into hives each night alone. It was scary. It just gets really hard. I am not on the Covid frontlines but I am tired, so so tired.”
Along with work, and as a single mom, Emily also has her three children schooling virtually at home. “Some days I do work from home and one day,” Emily recalled, “I was on a video call as the mailman knocked, Camryn was learning juggling with plastic bags, the dog was barking, for music class the twins were singing, When the Saints Go Marching In, so I gave up trying to display a totally professional office screen appearance. We are at war with this Covid and life is complicated. We just need to carry on the best we can and appreciate and protect each other. My patients understand.”
When we emerge from the pandemic, Emily and her colleagues, in their offices at Mill Run, have an idea for their victory celebration. “We are going to remove that meme posted in March, which is now slipping down the wall and curling up at the edges, and get rid of it,” she said. “Maybe we will bring in a marching band.”
Pat Wynn Brown
Writer and Performer
Medicine and the Arts Board
Author: ESSENTIAL STORIES: Medicine During COVID-19 and the Lives of Practitioners at The OSU Wexner Medical Center
Voices in Humanism
Empowerment
(Presented as a gift to Ada Stewart, MD, President, American Academy of Family Physicians)
Brian Bachelder, MD
Past President, Ohio Academy of Family Physicians
Hometown: Mount Gilead, Ohio
Artistic Media: Foiled Stained Glass
Voices in Humanism
Cabin Retreat
This is our cabin we retreat to, to be warmed by the fire, to reflect, to be grateful and to let our souls rejuvenate.
We know we are so fortunate to have this blessed place and try to support, in many ways, those less fortunate.
Life, like flowers, will blossom after the cold for most, but not all of us.
We offer grateful prayers for those whose who are, and will, suffer great loss and longing from this dark night.
Paul A. Weber, MD
Professor Emeritus
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Wexner Medical Center
Voices in Humanism
Mindful Meditation…Wilbur’s Way:
“A few simple tips for life: feet on the ground, head to the skies, heart open, quiet mind.”
-Rasheed Ogunlaru
Jody Glasser Sobol
Photographer
Medical Student Mom
Voices in Humanism Advisor
Voices in Humanism
Gates Failing
OSU College of Medicine Class of 2022
Gates Failing enjoys meeting interesting people, exploring new regions and cultures, and laughing at the absurdities of life. You can catch him cruising down Neil Avenue on his bike or whipping up a homemade loaf with his bread machine.
Artists: Phillip Anjum (photographer) and Elizabeth Auckley (painter)
Medium: Oil paint on printed canvas
Artist Statement: We are current medical students at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. For our Portrait Project, each student was first photographed ‘in their element’; in a space where they felt comfortable. The photos were then completely de-saturated and then printed on canvas to represent the depersonalization that medical school experience may instill as well as the constant disorientation that comes with embracing a completely new and uncertain world. The colors painted back onto the canvas represents the uniqueness of each individual that shines through the showcase of the human faces of future physicians who will be caring for patients across the country and the world.
Voices in Humanism
Jody Glasser Sobol
Photographer
Medical Student Mom
Voices in Humanism Advisor
Voices in Humanism
A few days after George Floyd’s murder on 5/25/2020 gripped our nation, I refreshed the lyrics to Barry McGuire’s classic 1965 anti-Vietnam War protest anthem. It usually takes me a long time to complete a song, but the words to Eve of Destruction (Election of Destruction) flowed onto the computer screen very quickly. It was Friday night, the end of the typically busy work week and I needed to express feelings of outrage from that most tragic event, in the context of a COVID-19 pandemic and against the wider lens of societal disintegration we have experienced over these past four years. I shared this with a circle of fellow lovers of folk music who regularly meet on Saturday mornings (previously in-person at the Worthington Farmer’s Market and at the time of this writing, virtually on Zoom) and received their positive feedback. I initially envisioned turning this into a film incorporating video and still images taken from current events. I reached out to a music production team to record the song. As things turned out, the film portion never took off (so if anyone has interest in creating a film, please let’s collaborate). One of the music producers asked me what I was going to do with it. I thought about it and came around to the idea of a YouTube video to encourage people to vote on Election Day, 2020. A friend pointed out that the lyrics leave the listener wanting for an answer. That led to the idea of adding words addressed to the listener of this lyric video during instrumental break, the outro and finale, “GO VOTE!!!” as a solution. With Election Day now behind us, it’s an almost cathartic ending to the song.
In the spirit of Folk Music, please feel free to sing and play along – chord changes and words are matched and syllables bolded “on the beat” for ease of “jamming”.
Hear the song by visiting: https://youtu.be/u0-gNwDAcz4
Steven W. Ing, MD, MSCE
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism
Lyricist, Singer
Voices in Humanism
Evergreens at Sunset
Evergreens at Sunset is inspired by The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross, Season 7, Episode 3. We chose to paint Evergreens at Sunset for our paint night (Genetics Counseling Graduate Program) for its fall-like palette. Paint Night brought us together as graduate students and as friends.
Devin Marie Pillis
Graduate Student, OSU Genetic Counseling Graduate Program
Class of 2022
Artistic Media: Acrylic Paint on Canvas
Voices in Humanism
Evergreens at Sunset
A few of the students in the OSU Genetic Counseling Graduate Program gathered for a Paint Night!
Painting along with Bob Ross (via Zoom) they painted Evergreens at Sunset from Season 7, Episode 3 of The Joy of Painting.
Devin Pillis was kind enough to share photos from the event.
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