The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / The Bullet of Nature: From Disease to Delays, Fate Works in Mysterious Ways

The Bullet of Nature: From Disease to Delays, Fate Works in Mysterious Ways

September 1, 2010 • By David S. Pisetsky, MD, PhD

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF
David S. Pisetsky, MD, PhD

Editor’s note: This column concludes Dr. Pisetsky’s saga to travel home to the U.S. from a rheumatology meeting in Europe after the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland erupted.

You Might Also Like
  • No Trains, No Planes, No Automobiles: Travel Woes and a Journey through Europe
  • From Bimbo to Barajas Airport: Some Surreal Moments and a Ticket Home
  • Braving a Volcano (and Other Dangers) for EULAR
Explore This Issue
September 2010
Also By This Author
  • The Calling of the “Inner Nerd”

An event like a volcanic eruption is so momentous that it inevitably becomes a metaphor for other bad happenings in life. Ash does not shine brightly, but its presence nevertheless illuminates the vagaries of existence and, most certainly, the cataclysms of illness. For those who suffer from them, serious medical conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), lupus, and vasculitis are volcanoes. In the suddenness with which they strike, these conditions are devastating. They cause uncertainty and pain and, in an instant, can dramatically change perspective and transform sensibility.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

My recent experience of traveling in Europe during the Icelandic volcano eruption demonstrates this situation in a clear—albeit minor—way. Before my wife and I went to the meeting in Mandelieu, France, we spent a few days in a town called Beaulieu-sur-Mer, staying in an old-fashioned pension. Although the place had charm and delicious croissants, I thought that the bed was soft and lumpy. For three days, I could survive while I tossed and turned to get comfortable. Of course, that bed was much better than the conveyor belt in the Madrid Airport where I catnapped while waiting to rebook a flight. Nevertheless, after 16 hours sitting scrunched in a van travelling from Nice, France, to Madrid, lying down on a belt was bliss, and I couldn’t have been more pleased by the accommodations.

Volcanic ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption in Iceland in the spring of 2010.
Volcanic ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption in Iceland in the spring of 2010.

Fate and Fortune

When patients with serious illness report a good quality of life, the favorable evaluation may reflect a recalibration of expectations that has little to do with the normal standards of life. People who get sick adjust their worldviews rapidly and find happiness in ways that would be almost inconceivable before they became sick. In the aftermath of the volcano and fearing an ordeal avoiding pickpockets while waiting for a flight, I was thrilled to just close my eyes.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

In asking patients to describe their lives, we do not give them the time or latitude to explain the impact of their illness in a way that I have done with the account of my van ride. The trip, while tedious and annoying despite good company, was really just a small bump in the road, but its telling has consumed many words—now three columns total—and I could have gone on much longer. I have had the luxury of this column to elaborate on my journey. If I was a patient in clinic and this was a chief complaint, I would have been pressured to cut this account very short and reduce it to seconds.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Rheuminations Tagged With: Meeting, Natural disaster, Patients, TravelIssue: September 2010

You Might Also Like:
  • No Trains, No Planes, No Automobiles: Travel Woes and a Journey through Europe
  • From Bimbo to Barajas Airport: Some Surreal Moments and a Ticket Home
  • Braving a Volcano (and Other Dangers) for EULAR
  • Disease-Activity-Guided TNF Inhibitor Dose Reduction Works Long-Term in RA

ACR Convergence

Don’t miss rheumatology’s premier scientific meeting for anyone involved in research or the delivery of rheumatologic care or services.

Visit the ACR Convergence site »

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2021 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.