This post isn’t about therapy, it’s about art-as-outreach at a local university’s multi-hospital health centre. Last Thursday was another ‘patient day’ for me; after getting some work done at my office, from 0700 to 0930, I headed over to the hospital. My destination was the multi-disciplinary pain management unit, or PMU, at which I receive care for my rather bizarre medical condition; Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).
I talked first with my treating physician, and then with a trainee who’d just joined the PMU team that week. My doctor outlined some possible next-step treatments, to (try to) get my rare neuro-inflammatory disease more under control. We discussed the risks and potential benefits of each option, and agreed to try a new type of treatment – starting next month.
As I was walking back through the hospital, I saw a brightly-coloured poster out of the corner of my eye. The phrase “New beginnings” leapt out at me, so I went over to take a closer look.
This poster was partially hidden by another one on the bulletin board, so I carefully uncovered it. The first line said “Call for art submissions”, so I wondered whether this was a new fundraising initiative for the hospital.
Hospitals here in Canada are taxpayer-funded, and often lack money for major upgrades. Or they may have to wait for lengthy administrative processes, before receiving promised governmental funds for building projects.
Our hospitals’ charitable foundations will often bridge these gaps, by fundraising for renovations and other projects. This allows hospitals to complete smaller projects, or to begin feasibility studies in the hopes of securing funding.
This particular hospital is currently undergoing a major upgrade, so I’ve been seeing a lot of fundraising posters around the place. Perhaps, I thought to myself, they’re asking artists to contribute works for a fund-raising sale…
But no, this poster wasn’t for a fundraising initiative. It was seeking submissions for a community art exhibition, to be presented right there, in the hospital; the 2018-2019 edition of “Journeys Through Health: An Art Exhibition”.(1)
This will be the second edition of a still-new “annual community-based visual arts exposition offering a space of reflection for all the patients, families, caregivers, and healthcare staff who are touched by illness”.(1) The theme for this 2018-2019 art show is “New Beginnings”.(1)
This goal of this art exhibition is to consider the “transformative potential of illness and healing, and how these experiences can act as a catalyst for personal rebirth and empowerment”.(1) How a healthcare journey can create a new perspective, or lead to a positive change in someone’s life.
As I kept reading this poster, I realized that this art contest wasn’t only for hospital employees – it was also for patients and caregivers. I was intrigued! And very pleased to see that this university-hospital was including patients in its community art exhibition.
Patients – alongside physicians, nurses, and other hospital staff members. What a great way to give the folks working in healthcare an opportunity to see patients as people, in a different light. And for patients to see their medical and support teams as artistic and creative individuals. As people.
This was something I really wanted to be a part of. But the submission deadline was in just a few days, on September 10th. And because my disease affects my dominant (right) hand, I can barely hold a pen to write anymore, let alone draw or paint.
The only artistic activity I can manage these days is one-handed photography – using only my smartphone. I can’t even use a real camera anymore, so I try to apply the principles of photography to my smartphone pics; composition, lighting, and all the rest. I’ve even been known to get up before dawn during the summer months, to capture the first rays of dawn sun falling onto a flower 😉
So I sent a quick on-the-spot email to the organizers, as I stood in front of the poster, to ask whether they were accepting photographs. Later that day, they responded that I could submit a photo, but that they weren’t set up to accommodate video images. I decided to take a chance! I’d submit one of my recent shots, even though it’s only a smartphone image; it doesn’t have the depth and resolution of true photography.
The on-line submission form asked for a 100 word (maximum!) description of how the submitted artwork fits in with the exhibition’s theme of “New Beginnings”. This is the photo I submitted, taken in one of my own gardens, and these are my 100 words. If the photo is selected, I’ll let you know why I chose this one!
Diagnosed with a rare neuro-inflammatory disease in 2016, I sought out other patients for support. Because my background’s in medical research and bioethics, I was soon helping them!
Helping’s important to me, so I’ve become a patient advocate for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and resilience. Like finding new ways to do things I love, including nature photography. I can’t use my right hand/arm, so take photographs with only a phone; relying on angle, composition, sun, shadow. No filters.
I use these photographs to raise awareness of CRPS, which causes neuropathic pain worse than kidney stones. Constant, often permanent, chronic pain.”
My new beginning, through my relatively recent rare disease, has been to become an inadvertent patient advocate and to raise awareness of this medical condition. This is important, because:
The prognosis of CRPS is quite good if treatment is started early… without adequate therapy, CRPS can spread to other limbs and worsen in terms of symptoms and chance of recovery.”(2)
If my smartphone photo is selected, and my essay is included, maybe; a physician will stop to read it, decide to read up on CRPS, and be able to quickly diagnose a future patient who presents with signs and symptoms of this condition. Or a researcher might become interested in CRPS, or a nurse, or… you get the idea, right?! Wouldn’t that be a cool way to reach healthcare professionals, to raise awareness of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome?!
As for the art show, I’ll have to wait to find out whether my little smartphone photo will be good enough. To find out whether it will be picked for this juried community art show. It’s the first time I’ve ever submitted a photo, drawing, or painting for an exhibition, so wish me luck!
That said, I really don’t expect my photo to be selected. But I am glad that I submitted it. It was a good opportunity to reflect on something positive at the hospital, in relation to all the time I spend there as a patient.
Good luck to all the other people who’ve taken the time to submit something they created; patients, nurses, physicians, technicians, and everyone else who keeps the hospital running!
References:
(1) McGill University Mary H. Brown Fund; RBC Art and Heritage Centre; MSS Humanities and Arts in Medicine (McHAM); and Forces Avenir. Journeys Through Health: An Art Exhibition. Online. Accessed 10 Sep 2018:
https://journeysarthealth.wordpress.com
(2) Kabani R, Brassard A. Dermatological Findings in Early Detection of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. JAMA Dermatol. 2014;150(6):640–642. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2013.7459. Online. Accessed 10 Sep 2018:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/1861486