Abstract

This digital still and the poetically narrated animation portrait from which it is captured characterizes a woman overwhelmed by her body’s failure and by a health care system’s failure to care well. Her story offers insight into a patient’s experience of inaccessibly high-cost services.

Figure. Walk With Me

Media

Digital still of an animated portrait.

Caption

The animated portrait begins with a woman in a hospital cafeteria (see Figure) looking for someone to walk with her to her chemotherapy appointment. Overwhelmed by her terminal diagnosis, sadness in her countenance swells as she tells her story, “And I told the doctor, ‘I think there is something wrong.’” This remark is the point when her body informs her of her condition. She resists taking pain medication to be present with family members and spends money on better food instead of medicine.

 

Video. “And I Told the Doctor, I Think There’s Something Wrong”