Medical Question: Illness early 1980's.

AJ Luck asks:I just found your website and I have to say….I am hooked! What a great concept!! I am a fiction writer currently working on a spiritual thriller project.I have a character that is in her late 70’s in the early 1980’s. Ideally I would like her to suffer about a year before passing away. I need to find a way to have her pass away-possibly in her sleep. I need to find something semi complex for that era that would allow her to hide the...

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A Humor Break: Physician, know thyself.

I got this diagram e-mailed to me from a nurse friend of mine. It gave me a good laugh. Those that work in medicine can appreciate this as there seems to be these diagram boxes for everything. This one goes over how a medical student might find their specialty. Now, I don't know who to credit it to. So, if anyone knows, please e-mail me. And, if you find one for nursing, I'd be happy to post it.I think the diagram does lend to the fact...

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Medical Myth: Head Injured Patients Need to Stay Awake

I love the series Dexter. If you're unfamiliar with it and you're a writer, I think it's a great exercise in intricate plotting techniques. However, it is violent, so proceed with caution. The general premise is that Dexter works for Miami Police as a blood splatter specialist. In his free time, he's a serial killer, but only kills those that the justice system doesn't put away. This show is also good study for the sympathetic villain.In one episode,...

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Stitch Me Up!!

Often times in fiction, regardless of genre, our characters need to suffer a little mayhem to increase the conflict, like a physical injury. Today, I thought I'd give some routine guidelines for care of a laceration that would require stitches as background information for these scenes.Cuts are preferably closed within 6-8 hours after injury. Long outside shot is 24 hours and only if the physician feels the wound is not highly contaminated.First,...

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Medical Question: 1940's C-Section

Nike asks the following question:Can you tell me anything about Cesarean section in 1946 in a tiny village hospital. It's in Long Island, NY, only two hours from NYC, so they're not isolated and totally backward.The woman is a minor character who appears in only one scene, but I want to get it right. It's after a brutal snow storm, a maternity nurse stops by just to check in. Everyone knows everyone in the village and the doctor, a woman doctor,...

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