By Ramsey Ash, Dartmouth class of 2024, Eichler Fellow 2021-22
Reduction.
Woman.
Age 40.
HIV Positive. 4 months.
Recovering.
Proceed with antiviral treatment.
Attending notified of progress.
Man.
Age 46.
History of cardiovascular health problems.
Monitoring.
Boy. Man.
Just turned 19.
Hep-C diagnosis – 2019.
Later stage.
Showing signs of nausea; loss of appetite.
Attending notified of new symptoms.
Girl.
Age 8.
Developing well.
Healthy.
Next check-up – 6 months.
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A Small Glimpse.
Her daughter’s favorite food is from the diner on 9th street.
And when he’s not sick, her son likes their milkshakes quite a lot.
She works through the night trying to get herself back on her feet.
But recently, the treatment bills have caused her to not.
Her husband works the day shift
As a cashier at a truck stop
And their son just graduated
In his class, he was on top.
He wants to be a school teacher
Helping people… he likes a lot.
None of his friends are off to college,
But he will make some on the spot.
Their house is in Claremont
The town they call home
It's blue with white shutters
And their 3 pets there roam.
Many friends come by the house
Often they share dinner and wine.
It's in moments like these
That everyone feels just fine.
But, they haven’t had a dinner party in a while.
They have been working on rebuilding
Many treatment pamphlets they have received
Since mom’s diagnosis in the spring.
Dad was home late from work today
He had it out with his boss.
And mom had to leave for work again
Even though her stomach was in knots.
And some days are better than others
Some days they feel healthier by a lot
But on still, their world keeps turning
Diagnosis or not.
Throughout the year, the Eichler Fellows learn to write poetry. For their capstone project, the fellows write a poem that encapsulates their fellowship experience, a moment that has special meaning, or a concept that was learned.
Ramsey W. Ash is a ‘24 from Huntington, West Virginia who is interested in majoring in Anthropology on the pre-health track at Dartmouth College. Ramsey is largely interested in the fields of global health and rural medicine, and hopes to attend medical school following undergrad with aspirations to practice medicine abroad as a career. Additionally, Ramsey views his role in healthcare as largely driven by social justice, and he hopes to work to create a new era of culturally compassionate and equitably accessible healthcare, in America, and on the global stage. In addition to studying, Ramsey is a clarinetist with the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble, has been studying music for eight years, and teaches music lessons to children in the Upper Valley through the Musical Empowerment program. Ramsey also enjoys holding customer service positions, and has worked in the service industry for the past year. Ramsey is grateful to be awarded the Eichler ‘57 Fellowship.