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Eliana Jacobs is a Fulbright Scholar who aspires to become a physician to advocate for the intersectionality of health, education, public health, and writing. She brings awareness towards social determinants of health through her numerous medical poetry publications in Stanford JUSTHEALTH and the Journal of the Student National Medical Association (JSNMA).

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A dead man walking

No prior symptoms noted

Lies a failing heart

Eliana Jacobs is a Fulbright Scholar who aspires to become a physician to advocate for the intersectionality of health, education, public health, and writing. She brings awareness towards social determinants of health through her numerous medical poetry publications in Stanford JUSTHEALTH and the Journal of the Student National Medical Association (JSNMA).

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Eric Dessner
August 22, 2024 6:52 am

HI Eliana. This Haiku really struck me when I first read it. High blood pressure is such a common problem, and like you illustrated–so sneaky and so deadly. I’m curious what inspired you to write this? Did you have a personal experience with knowing someone who suffered a heart attack? I was also wondering about the last line of the poem. Did you consider the way that this line might resonate as a pre-morbid condition.… Read more »

Eliana
August 24, 2024 6:23 pm
Reply to  Eric Dessner

Hi Dr. Dessner, Thank you so much for your thorough response. Regarding my inspiration, I would say it was the different types of patients I interacted with who had hypertensive symptoms. Each patient was a different race, gender, and size, only reaffirming that anyone can experience stages of hypertension, even if the rest of their medical history is good. Regarding your other question, writing my last line from a pre-morbid perspective was my interpretation. Being… Read more »

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