From the President
| Publication year | 2020 |
| Pages | 0006 |
| Citation | Vol. 26 No. 3 Pg. 0006 |
Bar Members— Check Your Pulse
These tumultuous and unpredictable times have brought immeasurable stress, anxiety and pain to many of us, leaving very few in our profession unaffected. We are in a crisis as individuals, as human beings and as a profession.
Days before I chose what I would write about for this Journal article, I received an email sent to the president@ gabar.org email address, notifying me of the untimely death of an assistant district attorney in Columbus that had occurred the day before. He drove to his office one day and took his own life. I did not know this Bar member, but the news caused an unexpected visceral, emotional response from me. I cried. I cried for him, for his family, for his colleagues and for those of us who will never have the opportunity to know him.
Every article I read about his suicide after that email contained similar comments from those who knew him. He reportedly seemed happy and gave no indication that he was not. He reportedly did not tell anyone that he was thinking about hurting himself and seemed content in his work. These comments were familiar to me, having read other similar stories over the years. For some reason, with everything going on in the world, in our country and in our state today, the news of this lawyer’s death hit me particularly hard.
One of the most common means of determining someone’s health are vital signs. Blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, pulse oximetry—all of these measurements are taken to help immediately determine the state of one’s health. However, beyond the numbers, even more critical and helpful information can be found when looking at the quality of those numbers. Is the blood pressure stable over time, is the breathing deep and regular, is the pulse regular and strong, is the oxygen saturation consistently within “normal” range on room air? These measurements are aptly called “vital signs” because they in fact readily reflect one’s vitality, or lack thereof. But those objective numbers alone do not provide a complete picture of health.
How a person feels is as important to their health as are their vital signs. Is there any pain? Are there any difficulties completing normal daily tasks? Can care for oneself be completed without assistance from other people or assistive devices? How is stress managed? Any trouble sleeping? Any memory issues? Any mobility issues? These and other important subjective questions also play a large part in determining the state of one’s health.
Over the course of the last six months, I have had the absolute pleasure of virtually meeting and speaking with innumerable...
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