Flat Line.mov

This is a video for my friend and colleague CJR who died 7 years ago from complications related to AIDS. She was the sharpest, most compassionate addiction clinician I have ever had the opportunity to work with. She was a loving mother, spouse and extremely supportive friend. I initially met her over the phone as she worked at a treatment center that referred their clients to our program. The day I met her in person, she gave me a huge hug and we had a great (and very long) discussion about addiction and the care we provided for patients. It was a dramatic difference from when I last saw her – sitting on the floor of the bathroom in the hospital where she was after having had an adverse reaction to the crixivan she had been prescribed. Her life subsequently plummeted into a flat spin of addiction and relapse (after several years clean and sober), medical issues and the pneumonia that she had. – Not a day goes by that I don’t think about her, mostly because of the love, compassion and support she provided for the patients and families in her care and the wisdom about addiction that she bestowed upon me. This poem “Flat Line” is partly her story, combined with a culmination of the issues and factors which have contributed to the challenges of the patients in our care.