Contagious strength
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Contagious strength

“Do it scared,” Karene-Isabelle Jean-Baptiste tells entrepreneurs. After almost 20 years as an engineer, Montreal-based Jean-Baptiste became a full-time photographer in 2019. She couldn’t have known that covid would hit the world a year later. Nor could she have known that a photography series she “did scared” would get national media attention, launching her new…

Our theology of suffering
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Our theology of suffering

For 15 years I have been working as a registered nurse both in Canada and abroad as a missionary in Malawi, East Africa. Recently, I began studying to get my master’s degree in nursing as a primary care Nurse Practitioner. This is a growing field in Canada, and I am excited about the potential for…

The shadow of death
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The shadow of death

In May, an expert panel formed by Health Canada in 2021, in collaboration with researchers, stakeholders and clinicians, released a final report to the federal government recommending safeguards, protocols and guidance for providing MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) to persons with mental illnesses. This is in preparation for March 17, 2023, when the exclusion of…

Breath and breathless
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Breath and breathless

The men (they are mostly men) arrive at the clinic and take their seats in the waiting room. It’s a nondescript medical office with a busy receptionist, examination rooms and various types of medical equipment. This clinic is unique, however, because the patients all arrive with a black nylon bag over their shoulders. Some of…

In the valley of the shadow of covid
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In the valley of the shadow of covid

Severe pain radiated from the left side of my chest. My lungs felt scraped raw; two rib joints were so swollen they protruded like giant knuckles. “It’s just inflammation from your body fighting covid. There’s nothing we can do,” the attending doctor said, after several tests had normal results. “Go home and rest. Take Advil.”…

Short-term fix or long-term solutions?
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Short-term fix or long-term solutions?

Cost of living issues are dominating Ontario’s provincial election campaign. That is understandable because of recent price increases in food, gas and housing. It is also unfortunate because public debate focuses on short-term fixes when we need wise direction for the long-term challenges facing Ontario.  Short-termism is already baked into our electoral system. But changing…

Good healthcare is all about storytelling
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Good healthcare is all about storytelling

I was reading a magazine recently, and the phrase narrative medicine caught my eye. That’s not quite the right expression. “Eye-catching” sounds blinding. This phrase caught me like a burr, a seed pod that turns up on socks after hiking. It scratched at me and travelled with me. I turned it over in my mind,…

Risky business
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Risky business

Most of us have grown weary of living life in a state of semi-panic and cautious concern. The COVID-19 pandemic has grown old.We knew that it could go on for a while, but seriously? Christmas is fast approaching, and we can almost taste the bitterness of the one-year anniversary. At this point, we can’t blame…

Short-staffed & Short-sighted
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Short-staffed & Short-sighted

“The end of summer is not the end of the world. Here’s to October…” – A.A. Milne The cooler weather prevails, as do the yellowed leaves falling on our butterfly garden. The random scatterings make our new garden look settled, and I’m already looking forward to the spring when everything will bloom again. Mind you, I’m…

Wednesday afternoons
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Wednesday afternoons

All becomes concentrated these last weeks or days. The care offered is very focused. Earthly possessions are reduced to a quilt and some key photographs. Affairs are put in order; conversations more pointed and emptied of dross. All becomes distilled

Hospital morality plays
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Hospital morality plays

In November I had an overnight hospital stay (I’m fine, nothing serious, thanks for asking.) By evening visiting hours, my light was already dimmed for the night, my curtain partially drawn. After a very early surgery that morning, I was ready for sleep. But instead, inescapably, I was front row centre to a discomfiting succession of spectacles. And an applause-worthy finale!

Funding research with integrity
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Funding research with integrity

All of us at one point or another need to go to a drug store, pick up some pills that our doctor prescribed and ingest them to treat a medical problem.