by Heather Wood Ion
A year ago around this time, we experienced a miracle. My son had a cataract operation on both eyes. It was the best medical experience of our family, taking just 55 minutes from start to finish.
In the days and weeks following, I wished the doctors and nurses could share in the joy of watching him stand at a window, exclaiming, “Look at the detail, look at the colors! I’ve never seen this before.” The world was new to him, and he greeted it with awe and gratitude.
The history of such success is long and filled with the curiosity, courage, and compassion of most medical progress. Behind the frontline heroes stand the ranks of clerks and philanthropists, manufacturers and risk managers willing to experiment and willing to trust the daring necessary to eventual triumph.
Perhaps the most vivid example of coordinated work for a miracle is the story of the funding and testing of the Salk vaccine against polio. The public not only raised the research funds, one dime at a time, but mobilized schools, churches, medical clinics and community clubs to supply volunteers. The Salk vaccine field testing remains the largest and longest clinical trial ever conducted in the United States, involving 1.3 million children. For the public, the resulting safe and effective vaccine was seen as a miraculous defeat to a paralyzing, incurable infection. For the hundreds of workers, it was felt as a relief after months of dogged dedication.
We are so inundated by bad news—from natural disasters to fear-mongering politics to financial reports on unimaginable loss—that we often miss the joy of one patient recovering, the picture of the medical field’s shared calling.
Researchers must delight in the smallest observations in order to keep reaching for a new insight that may lead to a new treatment or a more profound understanding. Patience is rarely rewarded in our rushing, frenzied lives, but day after day, injured veterans learn to walk again, stroke patients rejoice as they laugh at some conquered challenge, and babies are born without disease or disability.
At this point in the new year, we cannot know what lies ahead, but we are told to expect doom and disaster. A local hospital is told to plan for bankruptcy. A staffing agency discusses closing their doors because they can’t find workers.
Might things be different if, instead of engaging in fear and despair, we took time to look for the miracles? Have we looked beyond the problems to the strengths of our troubled institutions? Have we listened to the insights of our staff, including the maintenance folks?
Yesterday, a father held his newborn while a nurse took blood from the tiny heel to screen for conditions that now can be treated early. As he hugged his child close against his heart, the little screams of shock and pain quieted into whimpers and then gulps. And the father whispered, “Everyone here helps with love.”
Remember the miracles.
Heather Wood Ion is an executive and cultural anthropologist who specializes in revitalizing troubled organizations and communities. She has worked globally to support corporate turnarounds, social recovery, and mission-driven leadership, including serving as a key collaborator with Jonas Salk, MD, on international health policy and the science of hope. A prolific author and speaker, Heather has published over 280 articles, taught at leading universities, and founded The Epidemic of Health to promote resilience and vitality.
