The Stories Behind the Short Stories

The Doctor was inspired by an incident involving a fellow first-year medical student. He stepped into an elevator with a woman who had been examined in the emergency room and sent to the surgical floor with a note from the ER doctor stating that she was suffering from cholecystitis—inflammation of the gallbladder, usually caused by a gallstone.

John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, Texas, had an old elevator like the one described in the story. Through its metal accordion-style door, you could see the walls of the elevator shaft passing by as you traveled between floors. It was frightening.

Anna with the Stomachache was based on an actual patient I treated while moonlighting in Minnesota during my neurology residency. I was intimidated by her mother and failed to ask the right questions to determine what was really wrong with her daughter.

Seven months later, while making rounds, I saw the young woman again. She had a beautiful baby daughter. I have often wondered what her mother—with “arms the size of hammocks”—did when she finally discovered what had really been wrong with her daughter during that first visit.

The Old Woman was inspired by a lyric from Art Garfunkel’s first solo album after his separation from Paul Simon. While serving in the Navy in San Diego, I was sitting on the floor shining my shoes and listening to the album. Art sang a line suggesting that someone might "encounter Jesus without realizing it". My imagination took the story from there.

Farmer Brown grew out of another experience during my neurology residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The patient presented with leg weakness and appeared to have a polyneuropathy. His clinical findings included absent leg reflexes and decreased perception of pinprick and vibration in his feet and legs. During the visit, my friend and fellow resident stole a cookie from a tray in the patient’s room.

The Man Who Could Do JFK was based on a story my college roommate told me about a remarkable scene he had witnessed in a bar.

A Story of Syphilis was based on an account I heard from a fellow staff neurologist while serving at Balboa Hospital in San Diego. Doctors worry about treating syphilis, but they may never know the entire story—or understand all the personal relationships involved.

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