For everyone who has ever received medical care (which would likely be all of us), the idea of putting it into fiction should be a natural. After all, not all of us have careers or families. But virtually everyone has gotten some form of medical care, even if it was just someone putting a bandage on a skinned knee.
Is it Possible to Get Inspiration from Injuries and Medical Care?
Of course it is!
Medical care matters in our lives, so it should matter in fiction, too. Because unless your setting is a magical one, somehow, some way, any hurt characters will need healing. And they may even need it in a magical setting as well.
Injuries and Medical care
Medical care might not seem like an inspiring subject. However, doctors and nurses naturally witness drama on most days. And some of the most compelling stories can be about that, such as Coma.
Injuries
So, have you ever broken a bone, or suffered a sprain? And if either of those things happened to you, what happened next? Did you faint? Or seek medical attention? Was it fast? Or maybe did your injury linger, even with an infection or complications. Did you need to have surgery?
And even if you were not the injured party, maybe a friend or a family member was. Surely, somewhere in your past, you signed someone’s cast, yes?
Illnesses
So we all know that illnesses, of course, can run the gamut. They can be mild colds or HIV. And they can be chronic, like diabetes is considered to be today, or a death sentence, such as Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is even more compelling and heartbreaking due to its gradual theft of the self.
And then there are pandemics, like Covid-19. What happens when medical care is rationed, or people just plain believe conspiracy theories which end up hurting—or even killing—them?
We may think of cancer as the worst of all possible diseases, yet treatments are better now than they ever have been. However, if you are writing historical fiction, that was not the case, even as recently as the 1970s or so. And if you aren’t squeamish, look up the treatment for breast cancer for John Adams’s daughter. Yes, that John Adams.
Childbirth
Of course these days only women and transmen give birth (although medical science may change that someday!). However, anyone can always witness it, not only the actual event but also everything leading up to it.
And don’t forget about how it can even be a bitter fight as to who gets to be in the delivery room. Mothers in law, I am looking at you.
Death
Of course death comes along with the territory. Consider the impact not only on the patient and their family, but on the caregiver(s). How do home health aides feel? And what about doctors, or even researchers trying an experimental treatment? Losing a patient is tragic, yes, but researchers can learn a lot from that.
Plus, naturally, the end can bring with it an autopsy. Or maybe the organs are recovered, for transplants or for medical research.
Malpractice
Let’s face it, it exists and it is troubling. How does it affect the patient’s family? Or the medical professional(s) who screwed up? Lawsuits and sorrow and guilt can all happen. Does anyone apologize?
Medical Care: Takeaways
Characters slip and fall, or they get battle injuries or just a cough. The medical care they receive matters.