Victoria Sweet: God's Hotel
Selected Excerpts
“I was impressed by how long it took. Two and a half years. And it did take two and a half years; I can’t imagine her healing in any less time. The general rule of thumb in premodern medicine was that it took as long to heal an illness as it took for the illness to develop. Depending on how we label Terry’s illness, as transverse myelitis, as a bedsore, as drug abuse, as a poor self-image, or — what I really believe it was — as some deep spiritual wound, two and a half years was just about right.” (pg. 109)
“Although, as I researched Hildegard’s concept of viriditas for my PhD and tried to understand what she meant by it, I discovered that premodern medicine did have a name for this magical act that the body performs. It was called the vis medicatrix naturae, usually translated as “the healing power of nature.” But this is not a great translation. Vis is related to vim and vigor and means the force of life, of youth, of newness. Medicatrix is related to remedy and medication. And naturae does not mean nature as in “Mother Nature,” but rather your nature, my nature, Terry Becker’s nature. It means the nature of us to be ourselves. So the vis medicatrix naturae is really “the remedying force of your own nature to be itself,” to turn back into itself when it has been wounded.” (pg. 111)
“Whether there is such a thing as the healing power of nature is, perhaps, beside the point. What I do know for sure is that it is a useful way of looking at my patients’ bodies; it gives me a way of imagining that the body’s natural state is to be whole, perfect, and without blemish. And it is what differentiates the living body from a machine: because if nothing interferes, the body, unlike a machine, will heal itself.” (pg. 112)
Discussion Questions
Take a few minutes to reflect on your relationship with gardening and nature.
Modern medicine usually laughs at antiquated medical ideas (bloodletting, leeches, etc), but Dr. Sweet finds wisdom in Hildegard von Bingen’s 12th century approach. What did you take from the God’s Hotel excerpt?
How might you use the garden metaphor to approach caring for your patients, loved ones, or yourself?
Reflections from #MedHumChat
“…What I love is the plants tell you what they need, and there is a learning curve...but they are resilient. I'm reminded when I see stray tomato plants sprout up in sidewalk cracks.” —@ZacharySagerMD
“I think we have created a culture where we expect things to heal faster by adding modern medicine. It can help (and may be how some things heal, they require intervention), but I think we've forgotten about things that heal with time.” —@kirstahoffman
“There are so many things we can't predict, so many "idiosyncratic" responses, patients outliving their prognoses etc. And #EBM doesn't address everything, uncertainty exists. There are clearly aspects of healing that do not conform to the norms of Western medicine.” —@meggerber
“I don’t think I agree. I don’t think the body’s natural state is unblemished. I think it is a little tarnished, a bit broken, often asymmetric. And that’s okay. I don’t think my natural state is the same as another’s. Too much impact of “nurture” on “nature”.” —@InduPartha
“Pay close and then closer attention to signals of what the person really actually craves. Don't underestimate the basics of what's needed for life, but don't use them to suffocate. Step back and know things will grow - or not - [because] of you and/but also despite you.” —@alinasato
About this #MedHumchat
This passage from God’s Hotel was paired with “Nurturing Medicine,” an essay by Zachary Sager for a #MedHumChat discussion March 6, 2019 exploring The Body as Garden.
We were honored to be joined by special guest Dr. Zachary Sager, MD (@ZacharySagerMD) for this #MedHumChat. Dr. Sager is a psychiatrist and palliative medicine provider at the Boston Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System who has an interest in psychological trauma, substance use and aging.
The pieces for this chat, along with the discussion questions, were selected by Colleen Farrell.
About the Author
Dr. Victoria Sweet, MD, is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, as well as an author with a Ph.D. in history. You can learn more about her here.