Thanks for publishing the beauti-ful essay “A princess dies, a surgeon reflects”(Can Med
Assoc J 1997; 157 [10]: 1402-3), by Dr. Ian B. Ross, so soon after the tragedy—and heartfelt …

At the 27th Annual Meeting of the Western Trauma Association in 1997, Dr. Gregory “Jerry”
Jurkovich delivered the Presidential Address entitled “Paint the Ceiling: Reflections on …

As physicians we try to distance ourselves emotionally from our work, but find there are
always cases that affect us. Sometimes things do indeed go very wrong, despite our best …

I was doing my visits when the surgery telephoned me. Ambulance Control had called—a
crew were attending an 82 year old woman who had collapsed—would I go? Three weeks …

In urban, large metropolitan trauma centers, we are accustomed to seeing the most
gruesome morbidity and mortality in medicine. By far, the most devastating morbidity and …

As luck would have it, I was retrieved from the abyss by a phone call from a friend and newly
hired trauma surgeon who wanted to discuss an unrelated issue. After our obligatory …

Iwould like to go home.” These were the words I was not prepared to hear. After all,
everything was in place for tomorrow's surgery. The consent form had been signed, the …

How do you tell a mother her son is about to die? How do you order chest compressions to
be stopped as she holds fast to his hand, pleading with God to let him live? The truth is …

Devastating. Shocking, surreal, frustrating, heartbreaking. How does one come back to
medicine after personal tragedy? How does one care for others when you have just lost one …

In a live interview with renowned film critic, Gene Siskel, Oprah Winfrey was asked:“What do
you know for sure?” 1 Oprah was unsure as to how to answer the question, but, since then …