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THEY BE ILLIN'
NYPost
By MARC SIEGEL
January 7, 2008
"These are the faces of illness in America. Do not look away. These are people, not cases. Survivors, not victims," declares Richard Cohen in hisnew book "Strong at the Broken Places." As a longtime sufferer of Multiple Sclerosis and colon cancer, with impaired vision, difficulty walking andpoorly-functioning bowels - beautifully chronicled in his celebrated memoir, "Blindsided" - it was a natural next step for Cohen to turn outward,investigating the lives of others who suffer from stigmatizing ailments.
Consider that three of the five patients he chose to follow for their "chronic" illnesses have conditions that would generally be considered terminal rather than chronic. But because of technological advances in everyday medical treatments, Denise's Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Buzz's aggressive lymphoma, and Ben's severe muscular dystrophy (Duchene's) are all deadly conditions which can now at least be ameliorated, the sufferer's lives extended for several years beyond previous predictions. Yesterday's deathbed is today's sickbed.
This new reality leads directly to one of Cohen's central themes - his cast of characters live long enough and are in enough of a state of remission or function that they have the opportunity to try to fit back into society. Unfortunately, they discover the harsh judgments of a culture that only accepts perfection. "You are not normal, so I do not need to communicate with you. You are not worthy of my time" Denise declares. As Ben puts it, "the slow suffering of chronic illness is the anti-Hollywood. Even if it's treatable, it just plods along, unresolved, incurable. It rules our lives."
At a time when our society is battling with the issue of extending basichealth care to more people, it is too easy to overlook the equally important and complex issue of maintaining quality care. Beyond just quality, as Cohen points out, doctors are too quick to objectify illness and remain out of touch with the loss of control that severe illness brings. "Strong at the Broken Places" is a superb reminder of the need to be human no matter which side of the illness equation you happen to be on.
Strong at the Broken Places
Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope
by Richard M. Cohen
Harper |
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