Those we carry
All of us have our own burdens, names chiselled on our hearts. We carry their bodies in silence. We carry them alone, refusing to cry. We hold them close, and keep the living at arm’s length.
We shouldn’t carry these bodies alone–just as no one should ever die alone. “Lay us down,” they would tell us. Breathe deep. Hear them whisper. They want us to carry them home—carry them home, and then let them go. They didn’t die so that we could watch each other suffer. Our patients, our families, our friends–they deserve better. They deserve more. We deserve more.
Read the full article by Jennifer Leckie (@browofjustice) published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society (sadly, not currently now open access!). To hear more from Jennifer, listen to her podcast.
Visit Those We Carry – “a space for us to share our stories: the difficult cases that never leave us, the triumph and the cost”. Follow @thosewecarry on Twitter.
- Leckie JD. I Will Not Cry. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2018; https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201803-159IP
If you are experiencing depression or suicidal ideation, get support now: if you are in Australia, contact Beyond Blue.
SMILE
squared
Chris is an Intensivist and ECMO specialist at The Alfred ICU, where he is Deputy Director (Education). He is a Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University, the Lead for the Clinician Educator Incubator programme, and a CICM First Part Examiner.
He is an internationally recognised Clinician Educator with a passion for helping clinicians learn and for improving the clinical performance of individuals and collectives. He was one of the founders of the FOAM movement (Free Open-Access Medical education) has been recognised for his contributions to education with awards from ANZICS, ANZAHPE, and ACEM.
His one great achievement is being the father of three amazing children.
On Bluesky, he is @precordialthump.bsky.social and on the site that Elon has screwed up, he is @precordialthump.
| INTENSIVE | RAGE | Resuscitology | SMACC