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| THESE STORIES ARE ABOUT ordinary and extraordinary people—all patients with different neurological problems—but stories more about their personal struggles and coping than their diseases These accounts follow Dr. Gutmann’s forty years in medicine, from his training in New York City through his life-long University Hospital practice in West Virginia. |
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| Excerpts from 'The Immobile Man' A neurologist's casebook ... from New York to West Virginia The ambulance slipped quietly down twenty blocks of upper Broadway past the entrance to the George Washington Bridge. This was not the Great White Way of midtown Manhattan, with its brightly lit animated billboards, theaters, and tacky movie houses. Here— on the northern tip of Manhattan Island—the street was lined with gray, nondescript apartment buildings, kosher butcher shops, bodegas, Chinese laundries and other 1950-style small stores. It was already dark, the evening dreary and overcast. The ambulance moved silently, stopping at an occasional red light. No screaming siren or flashing lights—on purpose. “The lights, the noise, it makes people crazy,” the driver said, turning to me in the next seat... —from ‘Finding the Answer' Frank seemed to awaken something in her. She nodded and reached for her comb with her right foot. Grasping it deftly, she combed her hair. “I can feed myself, too,” she said, pronouncing the words slowly and with great difficulty. He was genuinely impressed and Margaret could see his delight. He took her useless hand in his. “Margaret,” he said, “my young medical students need to understand from the beginning that patients can do surprising things on their own. —from ‘Limelight’ “We need to get her started on some medication right now to help with the way she’s acting. But I need to be sure I’m right and I’m still bothered that there’s no family history of the illness. And, to be sure, I need to ask you a very serious question.” The older woman sat very still, hardly breathing, waiting. —from ‘Woman in Motion’ Gary never remembered how it happened when the roof crashed down. His foreman had asked him to work through the lunch hour, to finish bolting up an offset in two roof heights. Suddenly a slab of coal broke free, hitting Gary’s helmet and forcing his face into the front of the bolting machine. Eugene found him moments later. —from ‘The Coal Miner' “Well, it wasn’t easy,” he told me. “I mainly had cattle plus a few hogs and a milk cow. I had to leave for work at six in the morning and haul a bunch of riders with me. In the summer I’d come home from work and cut hay ’til ten o’clock at night if the moon was shining bright. But I never could have done it without Betty. She was number one. She took care of the kids and the farm by herself when I wasn’t there. In the winter, I’d load up the two hay chutes in the barn on the weekends and Betty’d go out every day to spread out the hay in the mangers for the cattle. She did the milking too. “Now why did I do both—work in Charleston and run the farm? Tell you what, Doc, I was really ambitious. I wanted to outrun and outstrip all my relations–— bootleggers, teachers, all of them.” —from ‘Doing it Right on Ambler’s Ridge' |
| From Neurology Today, Sept. 17, 2009, review by Anne McCammon MD A Lifetime of Memorable Stories ...While neurological details are simplified for a general audience, medicine is merely Dr. Gutmann's starting point. He looks for the "person behind the illness," chronicles resilience in the face of tragedy, and ponders the complex relationship between mind and physical symptoms. ...The history and culture of West Virginia permeate his stories. Coal mining and its dangers, probably unfamiliar to most neurologists, are an inescapable fact of life. Ancient feuds are remembered, and punishment of transgressions can be swift and violent. Family loyalties are strong and stoicism in the face of hardship is ingrained. ...Short, engaging, and conversational, the stories in The Immobile Man stick in the mind and may conjure up the reader's long-forgotten memories. Dr. Gutmann has another volume of tales and a memoir in the works. Watch for them. _______________________________________ Comments on selected stories by professional reviewers from Neurology ‘The Tattoo’ delightfully captures some of the history and folklore of rural West Virginia and cleverly weaves in the legend of the historic Hatfield-McCoy feud and the remaining legacy... nice story with a twist. ‘Finding the Answer’ ... the story [has a] compelling description of an ambulance ride in New York ... rich in detail, successfully transports the reader... ‘The Prosecutor’ ... touching, poignant, and wonderfully written. The author succeeds in depicting a powerful image of a meaningful doctor-patient interaction. ‘The Coal Miner’... quite compelling—a touching story ... of the hard life of a miner... by a proven author. ‘Limelight’ illustrates the value and pathos in every patient and their struggle to assert their humanity. |
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| ... I had just arrived, driven 60 kilometers to my destination, and was unwinding with a long jog. As I ran past a cemetery, tired and jet-lagged, I had the sudden sensation that storm troopers were hiding behind every gravestone, ready to shoot me. —from The Old Man from Freiberg |
| The Immobile Man |
WATCH THIS SPACE FOR NEXT BOOK SIGNING Meanwhile, "The Immobile Man" is available in Morgantown at The Bookshelf 139 Greenbag Road, Morgantown, WV |
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> TO ORDER "THE IMMOBILE MAN" visit your favorite bookstore amazon.com barnes&noble.com or order directly from: mcclainprinting.com |
