Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 20 : Spring 2014 | Page 12

accepted that the more people there are in an area, us she would be there should we need anything
is the mother of my daughter’s close friend from
the less likely we are to reach out to each other.
high school. From the moment I called 911 to the

British anthropologist, Robin Dunbar’s moment Ted was released from the hospital, there
research in the early nineties concludes that there is was someone with a kind word and encouragement.
a limit to the number of people with whom we can
When we learned Ted may have to go to
maintain stable social relationships. That number,
150, is known as the Dunbar number. After our Maine Medical Center in Portland, we were even
group exceeds 150, we lose the ability to keep track more worried. Of course, Ted’s condition was
of and have meaningful interactions with all of the the primary concern, but the idea of having to
group’s members. Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The move from the tightknit community of TAMC to
Tipping Point, supports Dunbar’s theory of 150. the larger, more urban Maine Medical Center in
Gladwell studied the Hutterites, a religious colony Portland was daunting. While we do have family
similar to the Amish and the Mennonites who in the Portland area and would have them for
limit their colonies to 150 members. According support, we knew the hospital would not be the
to Gladwell, “At 150, the Hutterites believe, same. We had confidence in the doctors at Maine
something happens--something indefinable but Med, but we do not have the interpersonal circles
very real--that somehow changes the nature of we have at TAMC. Yes, there are skilled, hopefully
community overnight. In smaller groups people kind, nurses, doctors, and other staff, but having
are a lot closer. They’re knit together, which is very no true connection to them, their support would
important if you want to be effective and successful be more generic – Ted would be reduced to Patient
X in Room XXX Bed 1. Thankfully, Ted did not
at community life.”
have to make that trip.

My husband, Ted, and I were able to test

Just the thought of going to Portland and
this theory of 150 in February.
leaving the security of our small community,

In late February Ted was admitted to The reminded us of how much we have here in
Aroostook Medical Center (TAMC) suffering what Aroostook County. No, we don’t have tons of stores
we thought was a heart attack. That in itself was to shop in, myriad entertainment options, or scads
frightening, but as the days progressed and we of money to spend; we have something much more
waited for test results, we became even more aware valuable. We have each other; we have the support
of how rich we are in Aroostook County.
of neighbors and our communities to help us in

TAMC’s being a small hospital was an our times of need. We are truly rich.
advantage to us as we knew some of the people
taking care of Ted. And, if we did not know them,
we knew someone who was connected to them in
some way. While not affecting Ted’s treatment,
these connections did make the long waits more
tolerable as we could focus on something other Bechtel, Robert. B. A Behavioral Comparison of
than the dismaying situation at hand. For example, Urban and Small Town Environments. http://www.
the CNA in the ER knew the route the ambulance edra.org/sites/default/files/publications/EDRA02took from our house to the hospital, so we talked Bechtel-347-353_0.pdf. February 4, 2014
about the frost heaves in the roads. My daughter’s
mother-in-law, Connie, who works at TAMC, Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point. New York:
took her breaks to sit with me, let me cry on her Little, Brown & Company, 2000.
shoulder and hold my hand as Ted underwent tests,
each one revealing yet another disappointing result. Krotoski, Aleks. “Robin Dunbar: We can only
The TAMC chaplain for the week just happened ever have 150 friends at most…”The Observer. 13
to be Pastor Bruce who presided at my daughter’s March 2010
wedding last summer. Again, someone we know
who could help us stay positive. Karen, the nurse
who explained the cardiac tests to us and assured
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SPRING 2014