Adapted and reprinted, with permission, from a Discover Magazine article, appearing in “Vital Signs” – January 2012 issue By Will Smythe (Narrative) One of my junior surgical partners, Dr. Reese, called me from his clinic. “Hey, would you mind coming down?” he … Continue reading
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The Peach Tree
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This gallery contains 1 photo.
(Fiction) Reprinted in adapted form, with permission from Hektoen International: A Journal of the Humanities, Volume 4, Issue 1 – Spring 2012 http://www.hektoeninternational.org By Will Smythe In the hot Texas summer of my sixty-seventh year, my skin turned a … Continue reading
A Spider Without A Head
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Adapted and reprinted, with permission, from a Discover Magazine article, appearing in “Vital Signs” – April 2012 issue By Will Smythe (Narrative) I was in the middle of a normal clinic day when the nurse placing patients in the exam rooms told … Continue reading
Anne, Annie, Anne-Marie
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Narrative By Will Smythe When I was a surgical resident, I once won a teaching award from the students at the school where I was training. It was called the “Pearls” award, and those that were chosen were asked to … Continue reading
Pennies From Heaven
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By Will Smythe (Fiction) ONE You often come to me in the twilight, when I can’t tell if I am awake or sleeping, and when I can’t tell if it is really you, or simply a dream of you. You … Continue reading
Coming Out Of The Chute
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By Will Smythe (Narrative) I pushed open the patient exam room door self-consciously and entered, with the strange feeling that I had somehow just learned how to walk a few seconds earlier. The hard heels of my new dress shoes … Continue reading
Maqua
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By Will Smythe (Narrative) “I – am – doctor – from – United – Arab – Emirates!” A short, stocky and heavily black-mustached man, dressed in a tan linen suit, was speaking to me, emphatically, as I approached the exam … Continue reading
The Tumor That Didn’t Fall Far
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Adapted and reprinted, with permission, from a Discover Magazine article appearing in “Vital Signs” – October 2011 issue By Will Smythe (Narrative) The ceiling fan in our bedroom was just slightly off-balance, and I usually listened to the rhythmic soft … Continue reading
Santa Found Down
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by Will Smythe (Narrative) The emergency room in any metropolitan academic medical center is a busy, quirky place. It is set physically apart from the remainder of the hospital, its location often at the figurative and literal edge, or “fringe” … Continue reading
No Executive Privilege
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By Will Smythe (Narrative) Mr. Brown was a young patient to be hit with a diagnosis of lung cancer. He was only a little more than forty at the time the small tumor in his right lung was identified at … Continue reading
