Death T-shirts in the News
Here is a an article about Medtees.com in the Chicago Tribune today with some quotes from me touting the humor of these t-shirts. But the message of these shirts for people who are ill is a serious one:
I remember after my heart attack that doctors told me that no one would know that I had an "imperfect body" but a cardiologist, but I know it everyday--and sure as hell don't try to hide it. People get sick and they get old--so what? It is part of the human condition--but rising above it to do the best we can with the life we have is the answer, not trying to pretend that we are immortal.
The MedTees T-shirts are the brainchild of Evanston Northwestern physician Wes Fisher and his wife, Diane. Fed up with a culture that they say resists the natural processes of aging and illness like leprosy, the Fishers' idea allows patients and people with illnesses to poke fun at their ailments.
"It's kind of a countercultural idea," Wes Fisher said in the kitchen of his home. "People in Western culture really don't think it's OK to have an illness or be sick. We have a media image of the perfect body."
I remember after my heart attack that doctors told me that no one would know that I had an "imperfect body" but a cardiologist, but I know it everyday--and sure as hell don't try to hide it. People get sick and they get old--so what? It is part of the human condition--but rising above it to do the best we can with the life we have is the answer, not trying to pretend that we are immortal.
posted by Helen at 10:37 AM
12 Comments:
The cult of perfect health is a 20th century phenomenon. Just look at any art or literature pre WW I and you will see culture produced by people who were surrounded by disease and death, for the young and the old. Especially death for the young.
I think the cult is a major force behind institutionalizing the elderly when they need care.
Out of sight, out of mind (out of family).
jeff,
Yes, I am always amazed at people who are afraid of older people or who always want a bunch of socialized goodies so that when their families members get old, they do not have to deal with them. I have talked with people--usually liberals-- who say they want the government to pay all expenses for the elderly so they will not have to care for them themselves! What the hell kind of compassion is that?
It would be those pesky liberals again, wouldn't it.
Well, get this: There are plenty of Republicans who take title of Grandma's house just in time so that she meets the spend-down limits for Medicaid and can have the state pay for nursing home benefits. Or who let the VA take care of them for years.
As a nation we have problems with the concepts of illness and death. Maybe you could leave some the labels out and think more clearly about this.
"People get sick and they get old--so what? It is part of the human condition--but rising above it to do the best we can with the life we have is the answer, not trying to pretend that we are immortal."
With respect, Dr. Helen, the pontifications of your husband on extending life, and curing the "disease" of aging, has been a topic on Instapundit for a long time. I think he'd sincerely disagree with you, and would not merely "pretend" to be immortal but is actively seeking and supporting it with all available medical technology. His reluctance to accept aging as a natural part of the human condition is disturbing. I'm glad you've retained your sense on the issue, though.
Sydney Carton,
I do not disagree with my husband on the medical technology--I would use nanotechnology in a heartbeat if it were available to me with my heart problems. I understand at the present time, this technology is not available to me so I do not dwell on it.
Ha! 3:50 PM is GK!
I don't have a perfect body, and am unlikely to posess one in the near future. The obsession with same seems to reach religious proportions in some people.
On the other hand, the report on my colonoscopy started by noting I had a "superbly prepared colon." Nice to be able to do something right.
AVI,
You too? I had the joy of being told that I should be a "colon model." All of the doctors came out to look at my test during a barium enema (this is what they do to you if you have a defibrillator) and were discussing the great pictures they were getting. Colon model--wonder if there is a future in it?
Helen, thanks for the post. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who chooses to face this kind of thing with humor. Like your heart condition, chronic pain disorders aren't completely obvious, but they sure can get in the way of a good time :)
I don't know if I could be a colon model. That junk you have to drink for the test is just too nasty :)
"Good, better, best/I'll never let it rest/Until my good is better/And my better's best." I don't have a perfect body, and don't beat myself up for not having it. It's an ideal to shoot for, not something to beat yourself up for not having. Like the ancient Greeks, without the homo stuff. I don't know about immortality, but mankind won't know unless mankind tries, so I'm glad some pioneers are out there doing the research. Even if literal immortality is never obtained, we may someday, ages from now, obtain a lifespan, accompanied by a quality of life, which we wouldn't have if we'd listened to nay-sayers--who will sound, in retrospect, like benighted villagers in pre-Renaissance Europe saying, "Well, even if the world is round, what do we need to go to the other hemisphere for. We've always stewed in our own filth on this side of the globe, and that's what we would learn to be content with."
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