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Michael Attas: 2
who willingly took care of the least among us
Waco Tribune-Herald (TX) - Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Author: MICHAEL ATTAS Guest columnist
She
was a dynamo who couldn’t have been more than 5 feet tall in high heels. But she
was the most brilliant, compassionate and dedicated physician I’ve ever met.
Dr. Jacquelyn Noonan was chief of pediatric cardiology at the University of
Kentucky when I was in training. We all were in awe of her.
A rare syndrome of congenital heart disease was named after her. She wrote
textbooks and hundreds of scientific articles. At that time, Kentucky had a
system of regional heart clinics and one of our most prized days was taking a
road trip into the heart of Appalachia with her.
She knew tens of thousands of patients and their stories. In an era before
echocardiography and other technology, she could place her hands and
stethoscope on the chest of a small infant and recite an intricate and complex
outline of the problems and treatment options.
She was my hero. And never once did the economics of medicine ever cross her
mind, heart or lips. She practiced medicine with one rule — caring for what
Scripture calls “the least among us.” She would say she simply did what she was
called to do — be an agent of healing.
She made the lives of everyone around her — patients, parents, educators, staff
— better by her powerful example and presence.
The Rev. Henri Nouwen, the famous Catholic spiritual writer, drew upon this
same sense of care for the least among us when he dedicated the last decade of
his life to a community of the mentally handicapped.
He found in their presence a strong sense of the divine. He discovered what it
was like to live with unconditional love, with no sense of “accomplishments” in
the traditional fashion and no expectations, except total trust and commitment.
He changed grown men’s diapers, held them when they whimpered, cared for them
in their living and dying. In their midst, he discovered who he truly was in
relationship to the God he believed in.
Like Noonan, his faith shaped his life. It altered what he did. It wasn’t a
question of creed, church dogma or denominational differences.
Politics in the usual sense was beyond them. These two individuals were shaped
by their faith and the world was a better place for both of them because of it.
I confess I have not always lived up to the standards set by these two giants.
That is my fault, not theirs.
So why do I tell the stories of these two in a column on health care? Simply
this. I believe with all my heart that one of the most profound sayings of
Jesus was his answer when someone asked what we will be held accountable for at
the end of our days. We will not be judged by creed or even religious beliefs,
and certainly not by our political ideology. We will be judged by what we do or
do not do for the least among us.
I am not a health care economist. I am not a politician. But if a society with
the resources and the soul of this nation cannot find a way to take care of the
least among us in our health care system — as Dr. Noonan and the Rev. Nouwen
did — it is going to be a difficult thing to answer for someday.
Michael Attas is a local doctor, a medical humanities professor and an
Episcopal priest. E-mail him at Michael_Attas@baylor.edu.
Section: accesswaco
Record Number: 10122010-wac-attas12
(c) 2010 Robinson Media Co. LLC - Waco Tribune-Herald
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