Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

After COVID, now my soul can rest a little easier

Dr. Basil Stathoulis
Conditions
July 11, 2021
94 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

I had been searching for a year. Because of the pandemic, despite the pandemic and to heal from the pandemic. Finally in May this year, I was gifted what seemed to have become an impossible task.

I messaged the hospital manager: “The trees have arrived. I’ll come by later in the week to chat about where to plant them.”

“Excellent” was her answer.

We have a garden of remembrance as you enter our hospital. It has two benches, three tall aloes, and a variety of African indigenous lilies. There are two glass walls with stainless steel plaques for anyone to pay homage and remember the departed. One wall has become the COVID-19 memorial.

A few days later, I popped into the manager’s office.

“Hi.”

“ Oh hi, Dr. Stathoulis.” She always calls me that. We asked about each other. “Can we do a walkabout to see where to plant the trees?”

“Sure.” She always makes time for me.

We walked into the sun of autumn, a warm day, with the trees huddled in their black plastic uterine bags.

Ziziphus mucronata. The tree of life. That’s what the Zulus call it. umPhafa. If someone dies in the hospital, they bring a  branch from the tree of life and reverently capture the spirit to take it home. They even pay for an extra bus seat on the way home. The branch that has captured the soul of the person who has died is tucked into the eaves of the roof of the homestead to rest.

I have a plaque in memory of my father’s passing in 2008 on the first glass wall. It reads in Greek: “Η αιωνιότητα είναι ποιότητα, δεν είναι ποσότητα, αυτό είναι το μεγάλο πολύ απλό μυστικό” from Nikos Kazantzakis, who wrote Zorba the Greek. Translated it means “Eternity lies in the quality, not the quantity; that is the great secret.” When I finished school in 1980, I planted a Ziziphus in the garden of our family home. After my father was buried in Johannesburg, I took a branch from that tree and left it at my grandfather’s house in our village in Greece.

It was difficult to find the trees. I had asked far and wide of nurseries and tree growers and finally, a friend of mine, Jane Bedford, who had trained as a traditional healer with the Zulus, gifted them to me. A few days later, the local nursery found another three small trees for me.

Jane delivered the first three trees as soon as she got them. The thorns tore at her car seats. Her forearms had bright red spots where the thorns had drawn blood.

The tree of life has a straight thorn that points to the future and a curved thorn that connects us to our past. The branch has a zig-zag pattern, much like the path we follow in life.

I had a dream at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. I was moved by the pain of families who could not visit their loved ones in the hospital. I thought of these trees after my dream and knew I should plant them in our Garden of Remembrance. I finally found them. Rather, they found me. So Rachel, the gardener at the hospital, planted them. Three in a row. The other three small trees were planted in a group a bit further away.

This weekend I mixed some concrete and planted a sign to remember the reason we planted the trees of life.

A sense of peace has descended over me. Now my soul can rest a little easier.

Basil Stathoulis is an orthopaedic surgeon, Netcare Kingsway Hospital, Durban, South Africa. He can be reached at basilBLOGinc and on Instagram @basilartinc.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com 

Prev

We need to do better: Caring for patients after cancer treatment

July 11, 2021 Kevin 2
…
Next

How to raise tenacious and resilient children [PODCAST]

July 11, 2021 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: COVID, Infectious Disease

Post navigation

< Previous Post
We need to do better: Caring for patients after cancer treatment
Next Post >
How to raise tenacious and resilient children [PODCAST]

More by Dr. Basil Stathoulis

  • Our country needs a debridement: A South African physician reflects

    Dr. Basil Stathoulis
  • The medical team is at a breaking point

    Dr. Basil Stathoulis
  • Violent protests in a young African democracy closes a hospital

    Dr. Basil Stathoulis

Related Posts

  • How COVID is exposing poor working conditions in the U.S.

    Irene Martinez, MD
  • Finding happiness in the time of COVID

    Anonymous
  • Birthing in the era of COVID

    Jennifer Roelands, MD
  • How to get patients vaccinated against COVID-19 [PODCAST]

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • COVID-19 divides and conquers

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • The ethics of rationing care during COVID

    M. Bennet Broner, PhD

More in Conditions

  • Proposed USPSTF guideline update: Advocating for earlier breast cancer screening at age 40

    Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
  • The rising threat of lung cancer in Asian American female nonsmokers

    Alice S. Y. Lee, MD
  • Urgent innovation needed to address growing mental health crisis among children and families

    Monika Roots, MD
  • The importance of listening in health care: a mother’s journey advocating for children with chronic Lyme disease

    Cheryl Lazarus
  • The unjust reality of racial disparities in pediatric kidney transplants

    Lien Morcate
  • The surprising medical mystery of a “good” Hitler: How a rescued kitten revealed a rare movement disorder

    Teresella Gondolo, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Physician entrepreneurs offer hope for burned out doctors

      Cindy Rubin, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors aren’t to blame for the U.S. opioid crisis [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The power of coaching for physicians: transforming thoughts, changing lives

      Kim Downey, PT | Conditions
    • The hidden factor in physician burnout: How the climate crisis is contributing to the erosion of well-being

      Elizabeth Cerceo, MD | Physician
    • Unlocking the secrets of cancer conferences: an end-of-life counselor’s journey among pharmaceutical giants

      Althea Halchuck, EJD | Conditions
    • We need a new Hippocratic Oath that puts patient autonomy first

      Jeffrey A. Singer, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • “Is your surgeon really skilled? The hidden threat to public safety in medicine.

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
    • It’s time to replace the 0 to 10 pain intensity scale with a better measure

      Mark Sullivan, MD and Jane Ballantyne, MD | Conditions
    • Breaking point: the 5 reasons American doctors are dreaming of walking away from medicine

      Amol Shrikhande, MD | Physician
    • Revolutionize your practice: the value-based care model that reduces physician burnout

      Chandravadan Patel, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the cycle of racism in health care: a call for anti-racist action

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Policy
    • Unveiling the hidden damage: the secretive world of medical boards

      Alan Lindemann, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Master time management with 7 productivity strategies for optimal results

      Farzana Hoque, MD | Physician
    • Proposed USPSTF guideline update: Advocating for earlier breast cancer screening at age 40

      Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian | Conditions
    • The rising threat of lung cancer in Asian American female nonsmokers

      Alice S. Y. Lee, MD | Conditions
    • The tragic story of Mr. G: a painful journey towards understanding suicide

      William Lynes, MD | Physician
    • Healing trauma and reconnecting: Unmasking the impact of dissociation [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why the WHO’s pandemic accord is critical for global health care

      Elizabeth Métraux | Policy

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Pricey Drug Combo Boosts PFS in First-Line Advanced Ovarian Cancer
  • Kidneys on Ice; Improving Outcomes for Smaller Strokes
  • When You Know Better, Do Better for People With Disabilities
  • Could Semaglutide Help Curb Addictive Behaviors?
  • 'If the Narcan Isn't Working, Give More' and Other Myths About Naloxone Use

Meeting Coverage

  • Pricey Drug Combo Boosts PFS in First-Line Advanced Ovarian Cancer
  • Cardiovascular Risk Models Still Fall Short for Arthritis Patients
  • De-Escalated Surgery Suffices for Low-Risk Cervical Cancer
  • More Evidence Backs Gout Benefit for Gliflozin Agents
  • Reaction to FDA's Approval of Upadacitinib for Crohn's Disease
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Physician entrepreneurs offer hope for burned out doctors

      Cindy Rubin, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors aren’t to blame for the U.S. opioid crisis [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The power of coaching for physicians: transforming thoughts, changing lives

      Kim Downey, PT | Conditions
    • The hidden factor in physician burnout: How the climate crisis is contributing to the erosion of well-being

      Elizabeth Cerceo, MD | Physician
    • Unlocking the secrets of cancer conferences: an end-of-life counselor’s journey among pharmaceutical giants

      Althea Halchuck, EJD | Conditions
    • We need a new Hippocratic Oath that puts patient autonomy first

      Jeffrey A. Singer, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • “Is your surgeon really skilled? The hidden threat to public safety in medicine.

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
    • It’s time to replace the 0 to 10 pain intensity scale with a better measure

      Mark Sullivan, MD and Jane Ballantyne, MD | Conditions
    • Breaking point: the 5 reasons American doctors are dreaming of walking away from medicine

      Amol Shrikhande, MD | Physician
    • Revolutionize your practice: the value-based care model that reduces physician burnout

      Chandravadan Patel, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the cycle of racism in health care: a call for anti-racist action

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Policy
    • Unveiling the hidden damage: the secretive world of medical boards

      Alan Lindemann, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Master time management with 7 productivity strategies for optimal results

      Farzana Hoque, MD | Physician
    • Proposed USPSTF guideline update: Advocating for earlier breast cancer screening at age 40

      Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian | Conditions
    • The rising threat of lung cancer in Asian American female nonsmokers

      Alice S. Y. Lee, MD | Conditions
    • The tragic story of Mr. G: a painful journey towards understanding suicide

      William Lynes, MD | Physician
    • Healing trauma and reconnecting: Unmasking the impact of dissociation [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why the WHO’s pandemic accord is critical for global health care

      Elizabeth Métraux | Policy

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...