Narrative Medicine Monday: GUTS

I previously featured author Janet Buttenwieser’s essay, “The Colostomy Diaries,” on a Narrative Medicine Monday post. Today, I’m pleased to highlight her similarly humorous and heartfelt memoir, GUTS.

Buttenwieser writes with a comfortable familiarity, weaving candor into her story of misdiagnosis, treatment and loss. I felt like I was reading the words of a dear friend; Buttenwieser is authentic and relatable. She navigates the foreign and often perplexing world of medicine as a young patient, stricken with a debilitating illness. She finds herself getting regular CT scans and under the care of a surgical resident, contemplating operative measures: “I decided right then that I liked the resident better than my regular doctor. In my growing survey of medical professionals, I’d begun to notice a trend. The younger the doctor, the more he or she listened to me. They asked questions …”

I was particularly struck by a passage where Buttenwieser describes her overhearing a paramedic relay her emergency case to the hospital where the ambulance is transporting her to. He uses the common medical term “chief complaint.” She bristles at the phrasing, stating “I feel angry at the way we patients are portrayed by the medical establishment as whiny toddlers who need a nap. Patient complains of gunshot wound to the head. Patient complains of missing limb following leg amputation.” There is phrasing that becomes commonplace during medical training, traditional wording that is passed down in the name of congruity. To an outsider, though, I can appreciate how unfeeling much of this must seem. Medical-ese leaves much to be desired in the realm of patient-centeredness.

I was privileged to meet the local author briefly at a book signing and will attend a book club this week where she will also be in attendance. I admire her writing skills as well as her contribution to an important perspective – that of a young patient. GUTS has solidified its place among my favorite narrative medicine memoirs, including In Shock, When Breath Becomes Airand On Call.

Writing Prompt: Have you encountered a certain trend among medical professionals, as did Buttenwieser? Do you agree that younger medical providers are better listeners? As a self-proclaimed rule follower, Buttenwieser finds it difficult, especially early in her bout with disease, to advocate for herself or question her initial physician’s diagnosis and treatment plan. Have you faced a similar challenge in the medical world? Write for 10 minutes.

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Narrative Medicine Monday: The Colostomy Diaries

With humor and candor, Janet Buttenwieser writes in “The Colostomy Diaries” about awaiting her gastrointestinal surgery and the aftermath that leaves her with a colostomy. 

I like Buttenwieser’s use of visual details, putting the reader in the room with her, receiving this disappointing news: “‘You’ll have to have your entire rectum and anus removed,’ my surgeon told me over the phone as I sat in my living room, an unread newspaper on the table, cherry blossoms blooming on the tree outside my window.” 

Buttenwieser faces difficulty getting the trash can she needs to dispose of her colostomy bags at work. The humiliating barriers she encounters illustrate the ridiculousness of much “beurocratic red tape.” After her surgery, she struggles with how many details to disclose about her sensitive change in physical status, even to friends. 

Buttenwieser’s candid anecdotes of everyday challenges post-surgery, such as shopping for clothes and dealing with an emergency malfunction of the colostomy bag while out with her small children, show why her new book Guts, set to be released in 2018 by Vine Leaves Press, is likely to be an entertaining and enlightening read. 

Writing Prompt: Think of a time you’ve dealt with “beurocratic red tape” in relation to a medical condition or the medical field. List all of the obstacles you encountered. Can you infuse some humor into the piece, despite the frustrating experience? Write for 10 minutes.

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