Schmit

Artist Statement:

So many of the patients that we see during the course of our training have a unique and profound effect on who we become as doctors. They teach us lessons that we could never have learned in a classroom. But there is never enough time during this process to reflect on these experiences. I created five crochet hats that each symbolize one of these experiences as a memorial to the patients. I used the time making the hats to finally slow down and reflect on the lessons that I learned from each patient. I plan to give these hats to my future patients as gifts, to symbolize that I will use all the lessons I’ve learned from my previous patients to make myself a better doctor and that those lessons will benefit my future patients.

— Margaret Mary Schmit, University of Illinois College of Medicine Chicago, Class of 2022

Crochet Memorial

crochet hat

This hat is in honor of a child I met during my M4 year with significant developmental delay and psychiatric concerns. He had difficulty regulating his emotions and explaining his thought process when he got upset. He loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and we used that connection to help him with his therapy.

crochet hat

This hat is in honor of a teen who had been stuck in the hospital for more than 3 months due to inability to find stable housing to discharge her to upon leaving the hospital. She experienced a lot of sadness about losing access to her clothes, possessions and mostly that she was unable to go outside during this time.

crochet hat

This hat is in honor of a third trimester neonate who died during delivery. Because of medical complications with the birth, the mother had to stay in the post-partum unit of the hospital for a week. Staff put butterflies on her door to remind everyone to be extra sensitive and gentle with this grieving mother.

crochet hat

This hat honors a teenager who was diagnosed with cancer that recurred after previous remissions and that was now determined to be treatment resistant. She always brough glow-in-the-dark stars into the hospital to put up in her room because she was afraid of the dark hospital at night. She decided to stop all treatment and go home to enjoy the rest of her life.

crochet hat

This hat is in honor of a teenage who presented to the clinic after realizing she was five months pregnant. She was understandably nervous about the pregnancy but stated that she felt at peace and connected with the pregnancy when she put her headphones on her growing belly so that the baby could listen too.