Health Story Hub
Mike Higgens is a dad, husband, and pastor. He tells a short story of the day he was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome. Although he began to show symptoms at age 12, he was not diagnosed until he was 28. The article could prompt discussion about the importance for physicians to listen to patient stories as well as the signifcance of social support.
The blog “According to the Arts” is written for the general public. The posts juxtapose a medical description of an illness or disability, in this case Tourette Syndrome, with a novel in which one of the main characters exhibits the condition. The novel captures the signs and symptoms, and describes how Tourette syndrome can affect lives of people living with Tourette and of living with someone who has it. The biomedical text from a neurology journal describes the characteristic tics and behaviors. Comparing the story to the medical account shows the science vs humanities perspectives on illness and could be useful for undergraduate classes in health humanities, especially ones focused on writing. Also useful for health professions students and professionals to emphasize the human factors often missed in clinical encounters.