EMBRACING THE ROLES OF MEDICINE
The Love You Take
by GEETA GANESH , MD
The Beatles song called The End is only 2 minutes and 5 seconds . Despite the short duration , the last ethereal line seems to linger :
And in the end , the love you take is equal to the love you make .
What a profound thought . The compassion and kindness we put into the universe will eventually come back to us . The more years I practice medicine , the more I understand how this idea plays a role in patient interactions . The cycle of giving and getting goes beyond diagnosing and treating illnesses .
I have to thank my husband ’ s aunt , Annette Feaster , for helping me make this connection . Annette was the wife of Colonel J . L . Feaster , a veteran of the Korean War . She was a registered nurse at Alachua General Hospital in Gainesville , Florida . She was passionate about nursing and teaching nursing students . She also loved her family and supported J . L . by joining the Korean War Veterans
Association and Auxiliary .
Annette was known for her friendliness . She enjoyed getting to know people and loved letting others know how proud she was of her children , grandchildren and great grandchildren . During annual Feaster reunions , she would remind me about her daughters . One was a pharmacist , and the other was a nurse . She would tell me this information every time I saw her , as if I had never heard it before .
In 2018 , Annette posted a sad announcement on Facebook . Her family physician , Dr . Richard Anderson , had passed away . Dr . Anderson had served as a communications officer in the Korean War before attending medical school and becoming an internist . He meant a lot to Annette and J . L . On his obituary page , Annette wrote that Dr . Anderson had been their primary care doctor “ for 30 of the best years of our lives .” She wrote about how they “ shared the Korean War ,” and she thought he was “ the best of the medical world ” and a “ true family man .” She missed him greatly .
At the time that I read Annette ’ s message , I was a few years out from training , and her post made me curious . What is it like to
8 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE