sa国际传媒

Last week, I wrote about Stella, the stubborn and 鈥渦nrepentant madam鈥� from Victoria鈥檚 early days. In honour of International Women鈥檚 Day, there are three present-day local women I鈥檇 like to mention, too. All three are doctors, and two are fine authors.

First, I鈥檇 like to dedicate this piece to my own hardworking and selfless physician, Dr. (Tuz) Gooderham, a tireless community volunteer with a steady, caring and calm approach to medicine and health. That doesn鈥檛 even begin to describe her incredible dedication to her patients鈥� well-being.

Her clinic used to be the site of a 颅veterinarian and consequently, cats and dogs often appear in her waiting area, the owners unaware that this is now a different type of medical practice (although I鈥檓 sure Dr. 颅Gooderham could cure all animals!).

When my blood pressure rose 鈥� so much so that they repeated the procedure several times 鈥� she was not alarmed, but calmly discussed a few options as to how I might lower it. I have eliminated my Friday martini and daily wine (almost). If the pressure is still too high, well, I see no other option than to return to my debauchery and carry on.

For an informative yet moving account of a unique and special medical practice with refugees, I strongly recommend the book Your Heart is the Size of Your Fist by Vancouver doctor Martina Scholtens (2017, Brindle and Glass/Touchwood Editions).

Many of sa国际传媒鈥檚 refugees require very specific medical care as a result of their horrific backgrounds in war-torn countries.

Dr. Scholtens, with great tenderness and respect, combined with factual accounts, describes several of the diverse cases of her clients (many of whom cannot speak English) as well as her own passionate journey as a doctor in this amazingly necessary and often ignored area of the medical profession.

There are endearing, lighter moments in the author鈥檚 recollections, such as her observations of her client鈥檚 choice of 颅clothing: 鈥渢ap dance shoes from a thrift store 鈥� a 颅Justin Bieber backpack on a Syrian senior.鈥�

To carry out her practice, she was allotted a room 鈥減ositioned between the men鈥檚 颅washroom and the exit鈥� at the back of a health facility downtown (it sounds a bit grim, as if it lacks lighting and needs a coat of paint) and notes the symbolism of the location as 鈥渢he odd orbit of my medical career, on the fringe .鈥︹��

Perhaps, although at times lonely, being on the fringe enables us to look with a more observant eye, to assess from afar and achieve (to use a very contemporary word) 鈥渃larity鈥� and thereby offer profound 颅decisions and ideas.

I am always moved to tears when I witness the swearing-in of new Canadians, all taking the oath, many in broken English, about to embark on a new life in their new home, holding their little paper Canadian flags.

Of course, I have to mention Dr. Bonnie Henry鈥檚 encompassing and easy-to-read book Soap and Water & Common Sense (2009, House of Anansi Press).

In her fascinating account of viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi, you will read about Typhoid Mary, John Snow鈥檚 cholera map (an amazing 1854 London city map linking houses where there were 颅cholera outbreaks with neighbourhood water pumps that were close to the polluted river), Edward Jenner and the milkmaid that supposedly inspired the first smallpox vaccine, and germ-theory and vaccine pioneer Louis Pasteur鈥檚 work with the silk and wine sectors in France.

There鈥檚 even a mention of one of my heroes, Catherine the Great, who took the smallpox vaccine to prove to her skeptical population that the inoculation prevented the horrid disease.

Then the story takes a more modern turn to hot tubs, chocolate production, the 颅industrialization of the beef industry, the effects of climate change on shellfish, and global food shipping, among other notable modern issues.

The mention of botulism brought back memories of the Saanich Fair, when I entered my pickled egg and the judges wrote a horrid little note on my tag for all to see: 鈥淟id not sealed 鈥� may cause botulism.鈥� I was never so humiliated!

Today, according to the book, there is an antitoxin treatment for this awful infliction (I ate my eggs and was fine) made from horse antibodies.

However, we must remember the author鈥檚 wise words in her title: 鈥渃ommon sense.鈥� The book is informative, not meant to frighten us (although you may not want to shave your legs before a pedicure), and Dr. Henry鈥檚 advice for the common cold is to 鈥渘ever underestimate the healing power of chicken soup to provide comfort and relieve suffering.鈥�

Perhaps common sense will lower my blood pressure. As Dr. Bonnie would put it, be kind, stay safe and remain CALM, CALM, CALM.