New England Journal of Medicine article with Pearl Jam references from EB physician researcher

keenanite

Hi, everyone. For those of you who've seen Eddie's film, A Matter of Time, that raises awareness of the horrible condition Epidermolysis Bullosa, you were introduced to Dr. Jamie Feinstein who is a leading EB researcher at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado. He's also happens to be a die-hard PJ fan, 10Club member, and all-around great dude (I know because he's my friend and physician colleague at the hospital).

Dr. Feinstein's also an amazing writer and this week the New England Journal of Medicine published an article he wrote about caring for patients and families dealing with EB and then he himself being on the other side of healthcare as a patient. In-and-of-itself it's a beautiful bit of writing, but you'll all appreciate he was able to work in some PJ references (likely the first time a PJ lyric has been published in our nation's most prominent medical journal!). The name of his piece is called "Living in the Present Tense".

For copyright purposes I can't paste the whole article here, but thought you'd all really appreciate this excerpt. For context, Dr. Feinstein needed an MRI to determine if he was developing tumors in his spine and was listening to music while awaiting his scan.

"I realized that I had a choice to make that could redefine what the present meant to me: I could continue on with my anxious existence, paralyzed by fear of the future, or I could live my life right now, no matter what came next.

The MRI tech interrupted my thoughts. “Hey, ’90s alternative. Nice taste in music. What kind

of cancer did you have?” I realized the tech thought I was in remission because I was having full-body tumor surveillance scans. “I haven’t had cancer,” I replied. “Yet.”

He shrugged, turned back to the control panel, and told me to put in my earplugs and follow his directions. Once I was strapped down, the cold table jerked backward and sucked me deep into the tube. Against the background of loud clanging, I heard his muffled voice: “OK, inhale and hold in 3 … 2 … 1.” I closed my eyes and saw the baby’s serene eyes. The music resumed: I am myself, like you somehow. I’ll ride the wave, where it takes me.

I smiled. Then, I slowly inhaled and, with a deep sense of peace replacing any fear, I held my breath."

I'd encourage y'all to read the whole article at the link below. Enjoy, and kudos to Dr. Feinstein for all of his work on EB and for representing PJ in the medical community!

Living in the Present Tense | New England Journal of Medicine

njhaley1

That's awesome, thanks for sharing!

demetrios

njhaley1 said:

That's awesome, thanks for sharing!