CHEST Guidelines-Proprioception

Proprioception_chest

Pdf Summary

Karen Greenbaum-Maya, a retired clinical psychologist, wrote a poignant poem titled "Proprioception" after spending intimate moments with her late husband shortly before his death. Suffering from metastasized adenocarcinoma, he passed away on December 16, 2018, under hospice care at home. In her poem, Greenbaum-Maya reflects on the experience of touching her husband, feeling a sense of futility as she processes the profound loss she anticipates. She describes the intimate, yet limited sensation of her hand on his chest, mediated through the thin membrane of her own dead skin cells. This haunting image captures her struggle to physically and emotionally connect with him in his final days. Despite the difficulty in fully feeling him, she realizes the inevitable void his absence will create in her life. The poem expresses the tension between her desire to write about the experience and the powerful urge to remain close to him, savoring the diminishing moments they share. It highlights the intense emotional landscape of love, loss, and the frustrating boundaries imposed by physical separation, even in close proximity. This work, published in the journal <em>Chest</em> by the American College of Chest Physicians, serves as a touching testament to human connection amidst the shadow of impending loss.

Keywords

Karen Greenbaum-Maya

Proprioception

poem

metastasized adenocarcinoma

hospice care

loss

intimacy

emotional connection

physical separation

American College of Chest Physicians