September 2007 | Back to Table of Contents

End Notes

28 y.o. Female—Facial Pain

By Sonja Colianni, M.D.

Pain of face she tells me,
smiling through words of tears.
Two children left in Mexico,
only two and four years.
Three months of constant labor,
denied peace found in sleep.
Muscles of stone from her work,
promises she must keep.
Wired money ties two lands,
resentment pries apart.
How can I help this woman?
symptoms of a torn heart.

Sonja Colianni was a third-year pediatric resident when she wrote this poem. She now is a pediatrician at Hennepin County Medical Center.

Dr. Colianni recalls the inspiration for this poem: I was working in a very busy emergency department when I encountered this patient. She had no idea that her difficult life circumstances could be the cause of the stress and tension that led to her physical pain.