Tales from the Edge
On the 25th of November at the Orange City Library Dr Frank Brennan an internationally renowned Palliative Care physician read a collection of stories at the Orange City Library he has written based on his experiences working with people with the diagnosis of a life limiting illness. These stories inspired hope and resonated with compassion and humanity.
Dr Frank Brennan is a Palliative care Physician who currently works in Sydney at Calvary Hospital. He has an interest in all aspects of Palliative Care including how story telling and the humanities illuminate this area of human experience.
He has written a series of narratives drawn from his work with the dying; several of them have been broadcast on ABC Radio and published in the Griffith Review and Australian Financial Review. He has worked in Palliative Care for many years in Ireland and Australia.
The Evening was a great success Dr Brennan read his stories out to an audience of about 30 people. The stories seemed to cover the spectrum of Palliative Care experience and they all revealed a deep sense of compassion that underpins Dr Brennan's approach.
On the 25th of November at the Orange City Library Dr Frank Brennan an internationally renowned Palliative Care physician read a collection of stories at the Orange City Library he has written based on his experiences working with people with the diagnosis of a life limiting illness. These stories inspired hope and resonated with compassion and humanity.
Dr Frank Brennan is a Palliative care Physician who currently works in Sydney at Calvary Hospital. He has an interest in all aspects of Palliative Care including how story telling and the humanities illuminate this area of human experience.
He has written a series of narratives drawn from his work with the dying; several of them have been broadcast on ABC Radio and published in the Griffith Review and Australian Financial Review. He has worked in Palliative Care for many years in Ireland and Australia.
The Evening was a great success Dr Brennan read his stories out to an audience of about 30 people. The stories seemed to cover the spectrum of Palliative Care experience and they all revealed a deep sense of compassion that underpins Dr Brennan's approach.
Stories also included Dr Brennan experiences of palliative care overseas, in Timor and Africa. These were moving vignettes of the experience of Palliative Care in communities were the need is high but resources shamefully low. For me what was striking about these stories was the support that dying people received from their communities.
Dr Brennan's stories not only painted pictures of the people but also of their environment, so as I listened to the stories I found myself imagining the surroundings, this made the stories feel so much more concrete. The stories highlighted for me also the range of emotions that can be experienced in working in Palliative Care. The sadness is always there but this is so often offset by the laughter and humour that as Palliative Care clinicians we experience when working with the dying and their carers.
This humour comes from a very deep place and for me rests on a foundation of courage nourished by love and as a Palliative Care clinician I can say that to experience this is a privilege.
For me one of the highlights of the program was the support we received from Orange community. Special thanks to Angela Owen from the local ABC who interviewed Dr Brennan and broadcast his stories over the week preceding the evening. Thanks to the staff at the Orange City Library in particular Jasmine Vidler and Elizabeth Barry who provided the venue and stayed back to help support the evening. Catherine Rogers from the Greater Western Area Health Service media unit also provided invaluable support in the promoting of this event.
If you would like to hear Dr Brennan's stories you can follow this link to the ABC blog
http://blogs.abc.net.au/nsw/central_west_mornings/index.html
http://blogs.abc.net.au/nsw/central_west_mornings/index.html
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