tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2459344908967814026.post655952927026810740..comments2024-03-24T03:30:32.791-04:00Comments on Frau Doktor Doctor: Devastatingly Beautiful Memoir about Love, Intellect, and DisabilityFrau Doktor Doctorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756474069436195020noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2459344908967814026.post-85357811294872514512023-03-02T20:24:45.781-05:002023-03-02T20:24:45.781-05:00It might be worthwhile to read this in concert wit...It might be worthwhile to read this in concert with Elizabeth Barnes's _The Minority Body: A Theory of Disability, https://academic.oup.com/book/8343 .Frau Doktor Doctorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00756474069436195020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2459344908967814026.post-35352052291198946792019-07-07T09:14:51.083-04:002019-07-07T09:14:51.083-04:00You are very welcome, Chris! I will tout your book...You are very welcome, Chris! I will tout your book far and wide. I hope it is well read and oft discussed.Frau Doktor Doctorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00756474069436195020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2459344908967814026.post-46456159990645491612019-07-07T08:50:04.165-04:002019-07-07T08:50:04.165-04:00Thank you for this engaged and engaging review. Th...Thank you for this engaged and engaging review. The reviews so far have been positive, but the book has not received one to date that gave meaningful and thoughtful feedback. I am thankful that the book had a reader who dove into it in such a thorough way. I will respond to three points in the review, not in the spirit of challenge but of clarification. <br /><br />FIRST, I was aiming for a general audience and so trying to steer clear of theory or anything that would slow down the storytelling process. In doing so I had Michael Bérubé's _Life As We Know It_ in mind. I enjoyed his account. He goes down a lot of rabbit holes that an intellectual would be likely to go down. However, I wanted to avoid such rabbit holes so that my non-Humanities-trained neighbors would keep reading to the end. I wanted to educate them a little bit about problems in both medical delivery and social support systems. <br /><br />SECOND, about naming providers, hospitals, etc, the publisher and I went back and forth about this. Ultimately, we decided on discretion. The institutions and device makers have deep pockets and batteries of lawyers. I have no pockets; hence, can't afford a lawyer.<br /><br />And THIRD, regarding fetal heart monitors, as "Dr. Hermes" indicates at the end, August may have been having problems before my wife arrived at the hospital for induction, or his problems may have occurred during the delivery. That unnamed hospital, a progressive one, was actively trying to push down the trend line by not resorting to C-sections. Even so, the per diem nurse (the main L & D nurse) at 2:55 a.m. of the morning of the birth pointed out that the heart rate was very low. But her concern was dismissed. Skepticism about monitors was part of it, as so was a desire to avoid a C-section. But I also suspect that they dismissed the nurse’s concern because she was an outsider and because she didn't fit the demographic profile of the other hospital employees. I am not saying that the hospital staff was racist, but she didn’t look like them. To my mind, it was because she was not part of the regular rotation that she did spot something amiss that the others didn’t. That made 2:55 am the moment to act. Consequently, even if August was already having problems leading to CP, he was experiencing distress that worsened his condition. <br /><br />My point is not to re-litigate the matter, but to point out that it is possible that more adverse events take place in delivery rooms than medical professionals are willing to acknowledge, or are even aware of themselves. A trip to the Facebook page "Hope for H.I.E." should make a person stop and wonder. Mistakes occur. <br /><br />Lastly, one of the things I figured out from this “journey” is that the team approach in medical institutions (while necessary for logistical reasons) allows for culpability to become so spread over a large number of people that no one ultimately is held responsible when things go south. In August’s case, a lot of people made mistakes. <br /><br />Okay, that’s enough from me. My response to your review is more long winded than I intended. Most people read my book as a story of a disabled child who dies and are so overcome with the sadness that all they can do is weep. So, I am grateful for your thoughtful, insightful piece and for getting beyond the pathos.Chris Gabbardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786706996987525225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2459344908967814026.post-6737689076350841212019-07-07T08:27:51.815-04:002019-07-07T08:27:51.815-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Chris Gabbardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786706996987525225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2459344908967814026.post-59168388872267637832019-07-06T20:28:11.285-04:002019-07-06T20:28:11.285-04:00I bought the book based on that excerpt myself. Do...I bought the book based on that excerpt myself. Do let me know what you think after you finish it, please.Frau Doktor Doctorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00756474069436195020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2459344908967814026.post-81082684756753464772019-07-06T12:40:30.473-04:002019-07-06T12:40:30.473-04:00I bought this on the strength of the excerpt you l...I bought this on the strength of the excerpt you linked to earlier— it strikes me as the atheist’s take on Henri Nouwen. I haven’t read it yet, but this review is encouraging.Rebecca McNultyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09134958748189047248noreply@blogger.com