SYNAPSES Cheryl means “one who spreads peace.” She told me, “I’m so happy to have met you.” I said, “I’m so happy to have met you too.” Two like minds in this chaotic world — meeting up for a brief moment in time, exchanging ideas and observations we have made in our lives. The phone rang, and she painfully picked it up and responded, telling the caller, “Wait, I have to say goodbye to a friend.” In one and a half hours I made a spiritual connection with a woman I will never see again. “Sometimes it makes me laugh, sometimes it makes me sad.” — Glass Animals This is the sentiment I feel when I listen to a really good samba or rap song… a balance of ecstasy and extreme sadness. ■ CHICAGO MEDICAL SCHOOL 51
SYNAPSES MELISSA CH E N, MD, FACULTY Uphill Artist’s Statement: This journey: uphill Next bend into the unknown Leaves suggesting change Mississippi Palisades State Park Savanna, IL. 52 ROSALIND FR ANKLIN UNIVERSITY
SYNAPSES GARY BODNER, MD ’75 Fifty Shades of Red Artist’s Statement: Mixed media on canvas. CHICAGO MEDICAL SCHOOL 53
SYNAPSES JAMES NARDINI, CMS ’23 I Am Enough Am I enough? I’m not getting any younger. My family and friends don’t see me sitting at my desk all day. I miss out on things that I don’t want to miss. I just need to know that I’m growing. I want them to know that I’m growing. I know they are proud of me. And I try every day to be proud of me. It’s hard. I’m tired. But I have to keep going. The hardest thing to do is to remind myself that I am enough. Every day is a new challenge. How did I do the day before? How will I do tomorrow? I will do just fine. I am enough. ■ 54 ROSALIND FR ANKLIN UNIVERSITY
SYNAPSES KU HN HO NG , MD, FACULTY Taking Care of COVID-19 Patient in ICU Artist’s Statement: Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches. Spring 2020. As hospitals were shut to visitors, we only had brief ICU images transmitted through the TV and SNS of what was growing steadily as daily activity for healthcare workers caring for our loved ones in this pandemic. This painting was displayed at my solo exhibition “Art in the Time of Covid” at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City, IN from October 1 - 31, 2020. CHICAGO MEDICAL SCHOOL 55
SYNAPSES L E O K E L LY, M D, FAC U LT Y Winter Moon Oh winter Moon I long to be home soon. Your cold pale light guides my way home tonight. You appear low in the night sky, sitting just above the farms I pass by. You lead the way to my door. I could ask no more of any friend, than to be with me at my journey’s end. ■ EDWIN KOROURI, CMS ’23 Fall and Winter in Chicago Artist’s Statement: From top left moving clockwise: October 2019, January 2020, October 2020, November 2020. Born and raised in Los Angeles, I had yet to experience my first “real winter” before starting at CMS in 2019. These four photos demonstrate the variety of views that have made me appreciate the appeal of the Fall and Winter seasons in North Chicago. It might be cold, but the scenery has been beautiful. 56 ROSALIND FR ANKLIN UNIVERSITY
SYNAPSES AAY U S H B O D D U, C M S ’ 2 3 Deer in Arches National Park Artist’s Statement: Arches National Park, Utah — August 2020, 7:30AM with Eddy. CHICAGO MEDICAL SCHOOL 57
SYNAPSES A L L I S O N C A S S I DY, S TA F F Inevitable Artist’s Statement: It ’s contradictory — spending a year fighting, society boiling over, while still feeling static. Stationary. It was a masterclass in patience. We spent so much time waiting. Waiting for lockdown termination dates, incubation periods, vaccines, stimulus checks, elections. We waited to see how far the momentum would go. All of which, in retrospect, seems like the inevitable consequence of past actions. Now we wait again with open, empty hands to see what the new “inevitable” will be. Acrylic on canvas. 58 ROSALIND FR ANKLIN UNIVERSITY
SYNAPSES SIDHARTH MAHAPATRA, MD ’09, PhD ’07 Wai Her liver is failing. Her eyes are yellow. Her bones are brittle. She bleeds easily. Her state is fragile. She needs a new liver. Her parents are from a distant village. Their plight is tangible. All they possess that is worth anything has been invested in their daughter. And her state is ever so tenuous. While I am not personally responsible for her care, I remain a part of the ICU team here at Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. I try to examine each patient carefully every morning. Despite her pain, her plight, her plain desperation, she did something that touched me deeply, a gesture I understood peripherally. As I, a complete stranger in a long white coat, walked by her bedside, she raised her quivering hands to “wai”. The gesture disarmed me of my false pretensions, shattering a yawning gap I perceived because of our different cultures, languages, and religions. Without a spoken word, she brought me ever closer to her and shared a hallowed custom with a complete stranger. The Thai culture places tremendous importance on respect. Youngsters are taught from a tender age to respect their elders by placing their hands together and “wai-ing”, similar to the “Namaste” we do in the Hindu tradition. One witnesses this exchange of respect at every walk of life, be it the medical student “wai-ing” the fellow on-call, or an attending physician “wai-ing” a senior faculty member when she enters the ICU. Children “wai” their parents. The vendors “wai” the customers who in turn return the honor. I “wai- ed” my housekeeper today which brought a wide smile across her face. Regardless of class, creed, wealth, or social status, age is respected. It is humbling to partake in this rich Thai tradition. And no richer example exists than that of a child in the PICU who, despite her pain and plight, “wais” the physicians every morning when they enter her room. ■ CHICAGO MEDICAL SCHOOL 59
SYNAPSES GRANT CHRISTENSEN, CMS ’23 Black Sands Beach Artist’s Statement: Lost Coast Trail is a 25-mile-long backpacking trail that is part of King Range Wilderness in California. The Lost Coast in total is approximately 80 miles long where the builders of the highway decided to go around because the terrain was too rough. The only signs of civilization out there are the designated campgrounds and the Punta Gorda Lighthouse, which was abandoned after World War II. 60 ROSALIND FR ANKLIN UNIVERSITY
SYNAPSES KU HN HO NG , MD, FACULTY Masked Lions at the Entrance of the Art Institute of Chicago Artist’s Statement: Oil on canvas, 16 by 20 inches. Spring 2020. Last spring, Chicagoans were asked to wear masks in public and maintain social distancing. The museum was closed, but the lions — iconic guardians of the Art Institute — wore masks to bring public attention to the mask mandate. As I went to the spot to draw quick sketches and take photographs for this painting, Michigan Avenue, usually heavily crowded, was virtually empty except for a few pedestrians walking. CHICAGO MEDICAL SCHOOL 61
SYNAPSES ZBIGNIEW LORENC, MD, FACULTY Dreams Dreams Drift Down Shadows of consciousness revealing the soul that waits and quakes ‘neath censored thoughts You dance with me by firelight Enraged Enflamed I chase Till at your whim you let me catch and crush you ‘neath in spasms of passion And when it’s done I look into your eyes and I see... Love ■ 62 ROSALIND FR ANKLIN UNIVERSITY
SYNAPSES GARY BODNER, MD ’75 My Favorite Kind of Day Artist’s Statement: Mixed media on canvas. CHICAGO MEDICAL SCHOOL 63
SYNAPSES MIRE K DUNDR, Ph D, FACULTY Dragonfly Artist’s Statement: In between hunts, the dragonfly perches on shrubs, posts, and the random dead twig or branch. 64 ROSALIND FR ANKLIN UNIVERSITY
SYNAPSES HE N RY SACK IN, Ph D, FACULTY Diversity Artist’s Statement: Photograph of diversity at the Chicago Botanical Gardens. A butterfly, a bee, and a hummingbird all getting along peacefully on the same flower patch. Original, un-retouched photo. CHICAGO MEDICAL SCHOOL 65
SYNAPSES KUH N H O NG , MD, FACULTY In Memory of Lost Lives in a Convent Artist’s Statement: Oil on canvas, 30 by 40 inches. Summer 2020. Portraits in remembrance of the nuns who died of COVID-19 from the Convent of Felician Sisters in Livonia, Michigan. Their ages ranged from 69 to 99. 66 ROSALIND FR ANKLIN UNIVERSITY
SYNAPSES CHICAGO MEDICAL SCHOOL 67
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