Category: books, literature, arts

Why we should LOL-even during a pandemic

Finding humor in situations that are anything but funny can relieve some of the fear, anxiety, and dread associated with threats to our well being.

I was planning a post about medical humor when I found an article about that very subject. JAMA published the article November 6, 1920.

No, that is not a typo, it was 1920. But since I wasn’t around then to read it, I’m glad they republished it November 3, 2020 in a feature called JAMA Revisited. (JAMA is the Journal of the American Medical Association.)

In it, the unidentified author refers to another article published in 1920 titled “Two Medical Humorists”, one of whom was Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes who he describes as

a master of style, all of his work illuminated

with numerous flashes of wit.

Oliver Wendell Holmes’ son Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., served as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1902 to 1932. Holmes Sr. was a physician and poet in the 1800s.

The author claimed that “a bit of humor now and then is welcomed by every class of thinkers, no matter how serious minded may be their daily routine”, and I agree, although I know people who seem to have no sense of humor, at least about some things.

Two Goats with Letter Board Phrase “YOU’VE GOAT TO BE KIDDING ME”
Two Goats with Letter Board Phrase “YOU’VE GOAT TO BE KIDDING ME” from LIGHTSTOCK, an affiliate link

What is humor?

According to Merriam-Webster.com “some common synonyms of humor are irony, repartee, sarcasm, satire, and wit….”a mode of expression intended to arouse amusement”.  

And from the JAMA article –

Humor is a lively sense of the incongruous (out of place) in the world and in life.

What’s funny about illness?

Most of us find nothing “funny” about being sick, injured, disabled, or dying. But illness and its treatment can create situations that prompt “incongruous” reactions that can be funny, ironic, and satirical. Finding humor in situations that are anything but funny can relieve some of the fear, anxiety, and dread associated with threats to our well being.

Nothing will so quickly relieve the strain with which most laymen confront the physician as the kindly directed remark accompanied with a smile and a sense of humor.

Humor’s dark side-MASH

In 1968 an Army physician wrote a novel about his experiences serving as a surgeon at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. Dr. Richard Hooker’s novel spawned a successful play, a movie, and one of the most popular television series of all time, known simply as M*A*S*H, still in syndication. The movie won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award in 1970.

In the novel MASH, and the subsequent versions, Dr. Hooker used dark humor to depict the doctors, nurses, and other staff coping with practicing medicine in a war zone. Their pranks, wise cracks, and self deprecating humor distracted them from their loneliness, anger, and sense of failure when soldiers died despite their best efforts to save them.

We need humor in the profession. It is one of its necessary virtues. For who save ourselves live in such a milieu of disharmonies?

Playfulness in a pandemic

Medical humor helps us fight the unexpected, unfair, and disruptive circumstances of disaster and disease , helping us cope with feeling powerless.

In 2020 when the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic sparked fear,confusion, and uncertainty, people took to social media with memes, cartoons,photos, and videos that testified to our resolve to overcome. I liked this video a high school principal produced and starred in. By taking a lighthearted approach to a serious situation, he demonstrated resourcefulness and resilience.

But let us also cling to humor, the antiseptic of life.

Friday Funnies

share humorous medically related cartoons on my Facebook page every Friday. I choose them carefully, because I don’t want anyone to think I take their health issues lightly. I don’t, ever.

But I agree with Merriam-Webster in that humor implies an ability to perceive the ludicrous, the comical, and the absurd in human life and to express these usually without bitterness.

If you don’t already follow me on Facebook, please do. Besides Fridays, somedays I share a Saturday Smile.

In medicine, humor is a virtue.

Unless otherwise noted, the quotes are from Some Medical Humorists which you can read at this link.

sharing the HEART of laughter

always LOL, Dr Aletha

a smal dog with round glasses on "What's the funniest meme you've seen lately?":
Describe the funniest meme you’ve seen lately, or leave a link in the comments. Family friendly content only please.

TRUMPED BY SOVEREIGNTY: a book review and update

In Trumped by Sovereignty Sara poignantly relates her late husband’s illness and death, and describes how she coped through that as well as the difficult years after.

updated March 20, 2023

Much has happened to author Sara Stophel since she published her

After 8 years as a widow, and after an apparent whirlwind long distance courtship, she is engaged to be married in just 6 weeks. Her new husband should never forget their anniversary since their wedding date is January 1. I haven’t met him yet but I highly approve since he works in healthcare.

Her friends are delighted and you will be too, after reading her memoir. In Trumped by Sovereignty Sara poignantly relates her late husband’s illness and death, and describes how she coped through that as well as the difficult years after.

TRUMPED BY SOVEREIGNTY:

Juggling Faith, Healing, And Submission to God’s Perfect Plans

A MEMOIR
BY SARA STOPHEL

“Damen Ballard, twenty-five, left his apartment on April 19, 1995, to grab a pack of cigarettes at the convenience store. On his way back he took the shortcut…crossing I-44 on foot at rush hour. He was hit and became a John Doe while doctors tried to save his life. Even as we were watching the terrible news of the Oklahoma City bombing down the road…and fighting against all of those feelings of desperation when we discovered no hearts would be coming…Chuck’s new heart was just two floors above us in the very same hospital.”

large storm cloud
photo by Nikolai Stophel

Sovereignty is a word you may not use or even hear often; I know I don’t.  Scholars use it in a political sense, like the sovereignty (authority) of a nation. Maybe that’s why Sara Stophel offers this definition on the back cover of her book;

“‘Sovereignty’ means that God, as the ruler of the universe, has the right to do whatever he wants. Further, he is in complete control over everything that happens.

Why sovereignty?

In a game of cards, a trump card overrules any card previously played … But what happens when that “game” is actually life? And what happens when you realize that God’s sovereignty is the final trump card?”

Trumped by Sovereignty is two stories in one book.  One story relates the multiple medical challenges faced by Sara, her husband Chuck,  their children and extended family. The other story describes how Sara coped with these challenges, especially in relationship to her Christian faith.

I have known Sara and her family for several years and already knew much of their story although not all. I find Sara to be direct, truthful and frank. She does not mince words.

(I did not consult Sara prior to writing this review.  I paid for my copy of her book.)

This is not one of those how we went through a horrible experience and survived by our unshakable faith stories; it is how we went through extraordinary stress testing our faith which survived and grew anyway.

Sara doesn’t boast about how she changed her problems; she admits that her problems caused her to change the way she looks at life, faith and God.

a tornado in Oklahoma
photo of an active tornado by Nikolai Stohel

The medical story

Sara’s book describes multiple medical conditions that afflicted her family (yes, afflicted is exactly the right word). The list reads like a medical textbook, so you may need to look up some of the terms; she does not describe them in detailed scientific terms.  (I’ve included some links for you to use.)

Between Sara, her husband Chuck, their children and extended family they endured –

The faith story

Sara and Chuck met in college, a Christian university known for teaching and believing in divine healing. However, Sara’s denomination, although Christian, did not teach Biblical healing. So as a new concept for her, she found it difficult to reconcile as her family’s serious health issues continued to worsen and not respond to medical treatment much less prayer.

She does not expect you to believe that she endured these challenges and tragedies due to strong and unwavering faith; rather she freely admits otherwise. As she puts it, her “truster” frequently breaks and needs repair.

“I could not commune with a God who did not honor my bigger-than-mustard-seed faith. I was more than certain God loved people…but I was also nearly certain He just needed me as a tool of transparency. My truster was broken. Having loved God my whole life, I couldn’t think of anything better…anywhere else to turn…so I just kept on serving and assuming the love and peace of God were for everyone but me.”

Sara uses humor in her writing, just like she does in life; she has to in order to get through some of the days she lives. You will laugh, cry, or both at some of her stories like-

  • Her annual physical (which was a year late) with her doctor, Dr. LionKing (an offbeat humorous pronunciation of his real name)
  • Her first CPR class after a family death

And you may get angry as she describes her shabby treatment by the IRS, the cell phone company, and the local fire department first responders who refused to take her critically ill husband to the hospital.

hugh storm cloud
impending storm captured by Nikolai Stophel

I encourage you to buy and read Trumped by Sovereignty. I know Sara and her family which means I also know that their challenges are not over; in fact, they may be bigger than ever. I believe she will continue to face them with the same courage and humor that she has so far; and maybe in a few years she will write volume 2 of her story.

woman holding a book
Sarah showing her sense of humor, soon after the 2016 Presidential election .

 

Trumped by Sovereignty is published by Paladin Publishing, Tulsa Oklahoma.
Find Sara on Facebook at Sara Stophel -author and on Instagram-sarastophel.  

 

 

 

exploring the HEART of health and faith in books

Dr. Aletha