Patient Writing

Here are some samples of the writing produced by participants in the Patient Voice Project.

Excerpt from "Celebration Dinner"
by Stephanie Callan

"I am called back and asked to change into scrubs. In preparation, I have already removed all of my metal. This includes my belly and toe rings. I already know where to go next, so feeling and looking a bit like a prisoner (my son Jacob would get a kick out of seeing me like this) I head to the staging area where they insert the IV's that dispense the dye. My IV is started with an 18 gauge needle. It's pretty comparable to sticking the guts of a Bic pen into your vein. However, if done properly, perhaps with a side order of morphine, it's not too painful..."

Poem
by Karen Pace

My brain reminds me
of a traffic light
red means stop so I won't
get hurt and know
whatever tells me no
for my own good
yellow means caution
to look at what's going
on before going on
green means go ahead
with what's ahead

My brain reminds me
of an ocean the waves go
back and forth when I am
sleeping waking and sleeping

But most of all my brain
reminds me of a caterpillar
in a cocoon resting for awhile
until it is ready to take off
its wings creating
a kaleidoscope
of golds in my brain
like a mirror on the wall
seeing my self in it
or an eel going on and off
inside me

Excerpt from "Farewell"
by Marcia Murphy

"I sat in the psychiatric clinic waiting for Dr. Hayes. This would be my last appointment with him. A few other patients waited for their therapists. A man and a woman engaged in a loud conversation about anti-depressants: Prozac had helped her lose weight, she said triumphantly; Trazadone had made him gain. A magazine rack near the back of the room offered diversion with its wrinkled and torn magazines: Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, Newsweek, and People. But I had no desire to read. I just looked at the pastoral scenes of trees and grassy hills hanging on the wall in front of me.

After this appointment my life would drastically change, and I wasn't sure if it would be for the better. I wondered how I would survive. Who would be my new psychiatrist? Maybe Dr. Hayes would have something to say about that today..."

Top of page