It pumps until it pumps no more, The heart is beating on. Connections all awry it’s sure, The heart is beating on. Surgery, medicine, poke and prod And yet the path is set. This infant’s on the way to God But we won’t give up yet. Compressions, epi, drain the chest. It’s over now, For the best?
The Heart is Beating On, Literature by Spencer Barfuss, MD
Spencer Barfuss, MD
Fellow, Pediatric Cardiology
I have always loved the humanities and this seemed like a great opportunity to explore some of the moments in medicine that hit differently. This piece is about one such moment. The line between doing things for the patient and doing things to the patient can be quite thin and is frequently blurry without the benefit of hindsight. This is part of the burden we signed up for - the burden we carry.
Voices from the Residents:
2021, "The Heart is Beating On"
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