Corpus - conversations about medicine and life

And then … a story of caregiving and poetry

27 August 2018 4 Comments

Benita Helen Kape

Pat & Benita 40th anniversary (1993) — Benita and Pat on their 40th wedding anniversary, three years prior to Pat’s operation.

It all began when my husband Pat, always a keen sportsman, had difficulty walking off the course one morning after a round of golf with his mates. Within a week we were in Auckland Hospital and Pat was in the process of recovering from a major spinal operation. This was a school of learning neither of us ever for a moment thought we would have to face. Both of us were healthy, even seeming young for our age. Pat had been retired for two or three years, and I had only a few years of work ahead of me before I would join him.

Things didn’t go well; the operation took longer than expected. Pat was cheerful, a tone that wavered little until much later. He was a man who saw the best in people. Bravely he struggled with rehabilitation, and we returned to Gisborne. Several days later, he became seriously ill. Meningitis was managed and contended with. We are forever grateful to all the doctors, nurses and agencies involved in his care. [Read more…] about And then … a story of caregiving and poetry

Speaking human

27 August 2018 1 Comment

Sue Wootton

Billed as a “one day extravaganza of poetry”, New Zealand’s National Poetry Day happens annually on the fourth Friday of August. Every year it seems to get a little stronger, a little more extravagant, with poetry-related events happening in communities all over the country – and beyond. This year, for example, Edinburgh, Berlin and Spain were also involved in celebrating the art of poetry Aotearoa-style.

One way or another, thousands of people from all walks of life were exposed to a dose of the poetry bug last Friday. I hope it’s contagious. I hope it spreads.

[Read more…] about Speaking human

Knitting an anatomy of loss

20 August 2018 3 Comments

Michele Beevors

After Stubbs, The Wreck of Hope, by Michele Beevors, at The Forrester Gallery, Oamaru, New Zealand 2014

As adults we must all at some point endure grief, although the loss of a loved one affects each of us differently. For some people knitting can provide a lifeline that helps to process loss, a mechanism by which the knitter can deal with overwhelming sadness, and a way to mark off the time it takes to heal. This was my experience. Knitting provided me with a safety net and a way of reconstructing my life, a turn from the personal space of grief to the political realm of art.

Knitting carries with it the legacy of care (for it takes time to knit by hand), patience, empathy and love. Hundreds of knitting patterns have been passed down through generations, one to the next. Knitting can be a powerful metaphor for sustainability, continuity and remembrance, and also for loss.

I began by knitting a single human skeleton, and went on from there to knit a skeleton of a horse (a memory of a school museum visit), then a snake, a dolphin, kangaroos, emu, frogs and children. Thirteen years later, I am still knitting, and the work is ever more urgent.

Robot counsellors: how do you feel about that?

20 August 2018 Leave a Comment

Julia Wells

Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere. Google maps. Amazon recommendations. Netflix’s top picks for you. Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant. Uber arrival time recommendations. However you feel about AI, most of us rely on it these days for something, whether it is picking our movies, helping us find where we want to go, or communicating with our smartphones via voice commands. But would you get therapy from a robot?

Counselling by AI sounds like something out of science fiction, but it’s closer than you might think.

What’s cooking in pharmaceutical research: ‘a wave of pills’

20 August 2018 1 Comment

Eeva Kumpula

Surely everyone knows how to use their medicines exactly as advised, and complies with all the instructions?! I clearly remember thinking this during my pharmacy undergraduate studies when the lecturers talked about people misusing their medicines. Why would anyone not comply? But as soon as I was ‘in the real world’, working in community pharmacies, I realised that no – people DON’T always use their medications safely, or as intended.

My entry to the University of Otago’s recent ‘Bake Your Thesis’ competition shows the ‘wave of pills’ out there that is causing harm to people in the community. My research examines this ‘wave’ in detail, to try and identify the particular medications most responsible for causing the damage. The pills on the cake form a symbol for emergency medical help.

One cause for concern and source of ill health is poisonings. The majority of poisonings or overdoses with medicines occur as a result of a simple mistake or an unintentional error in judgment (“Oh, I thought it would be fine to just take two extra pills!”). But about two-thirds of poisonings that lead to a presentation at an Emergency Department (ED) are caused by intentional decisions to take too much. There are many reasons why someone may overdose on purpose.

Humanising clinical spaces: art in hospitals

13 August 2018 7 Comments

Christine Mulligan

Life often takes us us on divergent twists and turns. Sometimes, surprisingly, all these different paths come together to make coherent sense. My own journey has taken me to architecture, nursing, art and art history. Together, these disciplines have led me to understand the importance of humanising clinical and institutional spaces.

‘Peninsula Hills’ by Neil Grant, Stoneware and clay, 1984. Sited at entrance to the Dunedin Public Hospital.

In 1972, Professor of Surgery Alan Clarke initiated the Dunedin Hospital art collection. He was responding to medical literature about the benefits of original art in hospitals, and to his positive personal experience of art in hospitals overseas. The Art Advisory Committee was formed, with the goal of populating the walls and corridors of Dunedin and Wakari hospitals with original artwork. Clarke believed that original art by professional artists provided the best portrayals of ‘life and nature’’.

Many years later, my unusual multidisciplinary journey would connect me to Dr. Clarke’s vision. [Read more…] about Humanising clinical spaces: art in hospitals