Looking at Karl White the Eugenics Plague Doctor, the first thing that stood out to me is the grim appearance of the plague doctors. I remember learning a little bit about plague doctors of the Black Death in high school history classes, but I would have never imagined them to look like that. At first glance, they resemble someone who would practice black magic rather than the art of healing. From reading the preface of the artwork, these plague doctors are described as opportunistic quack doctors who took advantage of the helpless people by giving them false hope. The artwork makes a direct association of these unethical plague doctors to Karl White, who stands at the forefront of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs.
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My maternal uncle in Vietnam was born Deaf and mute. From the moment that my grandparents were informed by the doctor about his condition, they asked if there is any chance that he will “grow out of it” later in life, to which the doctor could not answer. Afterwards, my grandparents ultimately accepted the situation and decided to take my uncle home and cared for him like how they did with their other children. I lived with my uncle under the same roof in Vietnam until I moved to the U.S. so I have seen how he managed to develop his own ways of communication via signing even though he was never officially taught sign language. On some occasion, I remember seeing kids in the neighborhood bullying him and poking fun at him for his condition. I would then ask my mom why my grandparents did not let the doctor help my uncle. Being a devout Catholic family, my mom said that my uncle was a gift from God and that God makes no mistake. My grandparents believed that there is a reason to why my uncle is born the way that he is and they wanted to embrace that rather than crying about how he is not like other …show more content…
Therefore, do not promise your patients that you can save them when you can’t and respect their wishes even though you do not agree with them. If Dr. Karl White is sincerely trying to improve the well-being of people with hearing loss, he should do so out of complete understanding of the long-standing culture of the Deaf community and recognize that Deaf people are capable of knowing what is best for their babies and their decision of not wanting to “cure” their baby’s deafness should be honored with the utmost
My maternal uncle in Vietnam was born Deaf and mute. From the moment that my grandparents were informed by the doctor about his condition, they asked if there is any chance that he will “grow out of it” later in life, to which the doctor could not answer. Afterwards, my grandparents ultimately accepted the situation and decided to take my uncle home and cared for him like how they did with their other children. I lived with my uncle under the same roof in Vietnam until I moved to the U.S. so I have seen how he managed to develop his own ways of communication via signing even though he was never officially taught sign language. On some occasion, I remember seeing kids in the neighborhood bullying him and poking fun at him for his condition. I would then ask my mom why my grandparents did not let the doctor help my uncle. Being a devout Catholic family, my mom said that my uncle was a gift from God and that God makes no mistake. My grandparents believed that there is a reason to why my uncle is born the way that he is and they wanted to embrace that rather than crying about how he is not like other …show more content…
Therefore, do not promise your patients that you can save them when you can’t and respect their wishes even though you do not agree with them. If Dr. Karl White is sincerely trying to improve the well-being of people with hearing loss, he should do so out of complete understanding of the long-standing culture of the Deaf community and recognize that Deaf people are capable of knowing what is best for their babies and their decision of not wanting to “cure” their baby’s deafness should be honored with the utmost