Health Affairs

Health Affairs, 28, no. 4 (2009): 1177-1182 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.4.1177 © 2009 by Project HOPE	New Online   Getting Health Reform Done   After the State of the Union   Incremental Reform   E-Health in Developing World   Most-Read Articles in 2009

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Narrative Matters

A Touch Of Sense

Abraham Verghese

LAST FALL I CAME HOME FROM A LONG DAY at the hospital, fell onto the sofa, put my feet up, and switched on the television. Tristan, my eleven-year-old son, soon plopped down next to me and threw his leg over mine. As we watched television together, his hand began to idly probe my ear, jiggle my thyroid cartilage (he’d call it my Adam’s apple), tug on my nose, and ruffle my hair. He fixed his eyes on the screen’s images, seemingly unaware of the activities of his fingers. It was as if my body were only an extension of . . . [Full Text of this Article]

The Bedside Exam

 

A Healing Ritual And Bond

 

What It Means

 

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