question for transplant recipients

[cariad]

All right, IHD transplantees, I have a question and would appreciate the feedback.

I am considering contacting my M.S. advisor and telling her that I would like to pursue my Ph.D in anthropology. It would be about transplant, perhaps the only subject that I will ever feel truly expert in. One of the many issues I would like my advisor's help with is devising a sound research study, which means that at the moment I cannot even tell you what the research question would be. I do know that I would want to interview transplant patients, either in person or over the phone, email may work if that is the only way a person would feel comfortable. I would not be taking anything from the forum (at least not without the fully informed consent of the author, but I don't want to get too far ahead of myself here).

I have read some of the anthropology about transplant recipients, and it is bad. Like "WTF are you talking about?!" bad. I had one cultural professor encourage me to write a rebuttal in a publication, but I just did not have the time nor energy back then to bother. I would hope that with a bit of assistance from professors, I could write something that would give a fuller and more realistic view of this population.

This is really difficult to ask, but I would love to know if there is anyone here who thinks that he or she would be willing to talk to me should everything fall into place. (And it may not fall into place - but recruitment is arguably the most difficult part of research, so I want to be sure I am not just kidding myself here.) Of course, saying you would consider it now is *not* any sort of binding agreement you are entering into. The nice thing about research, in America at least, is that you can change your mind at any stage. Before I invest a lot of time and energy into a lit review and discussions with professors, I would like some indication that there are people out there who would feel comfortable talking to me. Please PM me if you'd rather not reply in the public of the forum. Thanks for reading! Any other thoughts on whether or not I should pursue Ph.D candidacy are also welcome. If I am going to do this, I would want to start this coming term, only weeks away.... Gah!

[monrein]

Cariad, I would be happy to participate although of course some of the issues transplantees face are different for Canadians.  I also think that you would do a fine job of the whole thing and I encourage you to pursue it.

[bette1]

I'd be willing to talk if you need me.

[edersham]

I'm all in.

Ed

[willowtreewren]

Count Carl it! 

[kellyt]

I'll help.   

[kellyt]

I'll help. 

Of course, you'll have to come to Vegas in October if you want to interview me!   

[Chris]

Cariad, you can count me in. But I think you'd know I would.

[natnnnat]

 
I was wondering if you would consider study and I remember loving your anthropology of transplantees idea when I first heard it. Yes yes yes Cariad, yes, this needs to be written about. 
I will ask Gregory if he is interested, you could skype him, rather than spending a fortune on phone calls. 
Let me know if I can help with anything else, PhD-wise.  Maybe I can flick you some literature? 

[RichardMEL]

Definitely happy to participate if I can (you can interview me in my vegas suite if you like  or maybe in the Hooters pool?  ).

Seriously though maybe you could use one of the internet based tools like surveymonkey or something like that to get responses to questions and stuff? That might help with such a diverse group of folks around the world? Anyway just a thought

[rsudock]

I am all in!!! Do the damn thing and go back to school! I support you 100%! xoxo -R

xo,
R

[jersey girl]

Count me in!  Good luck!

[cariad]

Oh, my IHD darlings, thank you so much!!! I have sent off a quick email to my advisor, but I fear she may be in South Africa, cut off from modern technology. I really want to have the research question and design talk with her straight away! I am going to contact the department chair to see if he knows her whereabouts.

Nat, you are such a dear! I would love articles as I lost my library access years ago. As soon as I know what area I intend to investigate, I will let you know. Of course, I should probably read anything and everything that has even a hint of transplant anthropology about it. Citations, the other great obstacle, and such a daunting one at that.

Richard, never heard of surveymonkey. Sounds like something I must familiarize myself with, and soon. I have, however, heard of Hooters. Way to test my loyalties - will it be feminism or academia that wins out? You all will have to come to Vegas to see for yourselves, because if I set foot in a Hooters, I will deny it forever after! 

Kelly, I am soooo coming to Vegas. No worries there. 

Thank you, one and all. I hope I can pull everything together in the next month, including those oh so fun student loans. I am still paying on my last one, which does present a complication, but not an insurmountable one. I will update as I progress. 

[natnnnat]

Of course, I should probably read anything and everything that has even a hint of transplant anthropology about it.

see personal message. xn

[kellyt]

Oh, my IHD darlings, thank you so much!!! I have sent off a quick email to my advisor, but I fear she may be in South Africa, cut off from modern technology. I really want to have the research question and design talk with her straight away! I am going to contact the department chair to see if he knows her whereabouts.

Nat, you are such a dear! I would love articles as I lost my library access years ago. As soon as I know what area I intend to investigate, I will let you know. Of course, I should probably read anything and everything that has even a hint of transplant anthropology about it. Citations, the other great obstacle, and such a daunting one at that.

Richard, never heard of surveymonkey. Sounds like something I must familiarize myself with, and soon. I have, however, heard of Hooters. Way to test my loyalties - will it be feminism or academia that wins out? You all will have to come to Vegas to see for yourselves, because if I set foot in a Hooters, I will deny it forever after! 

Kelly, I am soooo coming to Vegas. No worries there. 

Thank you, one and all. I hope I can pull everything together in the next month, including those oh so fun student loans. I am still paying on my last one, which does present a complication, but not an insurmountable one. I will update as I progress. 

 

[cariad]

Yay! Finally some response from a prof willing to discuss research questions. I don't know if my former adviser is too overwhelmed with work and travel to respond, or if my email somehow went to her junk file, but I have not heard from her. Another prof said he was so desperately backlogged for the rest of summer, he cannot meet until September. I have set up an appointment with a prof specializing in medical anthro and biological anthropology. No idea if the two can come together, as I assumed it would be sociocultural. I hope he can give me some direction, because I am truly at sea, but looking forward to determining if I can pull this off.

Onward!

[RichardMEL]

by popular demand I am happy to relocate the question and answer session to the desert rose pool 

[rsudock]

Yay! Finally some response from a prof willing to discuss research questions. I don't know if my former adviser is too overwhelmed with work and travel to respond, or if my email somehow went to her junk file, but I have not heard from her. Another prof said he was so desperately backlogged for the rest of summer, he cannot meet until September. I have set up an appointment with a prof specializing in medical anthro and biological anthropology. No idea if the two can come together, as I assumed it would be sociocultural. I hope he can give me some direction, because I am truly at sea, but looking forward to determining if I can pull this off.

Onward!

This is exciting!! yay!!! 

xo,
R

[cariad]

Update!

I met a new prof today and we sat down and talked. It was scary, but I had jotted down some ideas. He said that if I could enter into this with 3 main themes, I could make a go of it. He also said that I should not try to do any of my own research for at least the first year, and he mentioned next summer as the ideal time to start. OK, that's fair. So I was way premature in asking all of you, but I will certainly re-ask when it's closer to go time.

Here are the themes of mine that he liked:
-obesity and transplant (though I think he did not understand it as a social value, which is how I see it.)
-Debt, reciprocity, and transplant
-Mental health and transplant

Then he suggested a school of thought called 'embodiment' and transplant, and how that might be altered, or perceived as being altered, by transplant. That one sounds complex and terribly difficult, but it deals in the brain's connection with the physical body, and I love brain studies. I am up for that challenge.

I told him that really my only entry into transplant was renal, and he said that was fine, and that there are probably different perceptions between a kidney transplant and a heart transplant. I then told him that I heard on NPR yesterday that they have implanted a fully artificial, mobile heart into a man in Britain. The narrator said "He is the first person walking around Britain without a human heart" and the prof gave this deep, knowing laugh that social scientists emit whenever they've just encountered the best piece of data imaginable. I said "I know. I could write an entire linguistics dissertation on that phrase alone."

At the end, he said "Well, this topic has legs. I am excited for you. I think you should pursue it." So, now it's a mad dash to gain readmittance and get myself enrolled in courses and apply for student loans. My sweet baby has a birthday this week and we don't even have a cake. I am so very frazzled. House is teetering on the brink of condemned status, and Aidan is having a few friends to spend the night over the weekend. Everything is poised at the eleventh hour right now. Must focus!

[jbeany]

I missed this with my complications!  Count me in on the interview list!

[Deanne]

I know it'll take a while before you're ready for your research. By then you should be albe to count me in (being listed now). In the meantime, if you want to include before/after information, I'll be glad to answer questions that pertain to the listing process.

[cariad]

Thanks so much, jbeany! I am sorry to hear of your complications - sounds utterly terrifying. I'm glad and relieved that it's behind you.

Deanne, that is so nice. I would like to concentrate on the evals for part of it, and so would love to talk to you and others about that experience before transplant, if the timing works out. I imagine my perceptions pre- and post-transplant are very different, and then in surprising ways, they've not changed much at all. I cannot wait to start talking to others about what they've noticed through all of this.

Thanks, all!

[monrein]

This is very exciting cariad and I look forward to eventually following, possibly participating in and reading your research.  The topic of embodiment is fascinating and I think we have a thread somewhere here that alludes to it.  Here's a link to an interesting article, mostly about heart transplantation but hey, an organ is an organ is an organ to some degree.

http://www.ucd.ie/philosophy/perspectives/resources/shildrick_contesting_normative_embodiment..pdf

[cariad]

Oh my goodness, thank you, monrein! I hope to read this today! How lovely of you!

[jbeany]

http://www.ucd.ie/philosophy/perspectives/resources/shildrick_contesting_normative_embodiment..pdf

Woooo... I need to read that over when my head is clearer.