illustration by martha kelly
My mind meanders habitually into little linguistic puzzles that I invent for myself. (We all have our quirks.) One recent example: Does anything rhyme with health other than wealth? The two concepts — health and wealth — are so strongly correlated, and for reasons far beyond the words’ matching phonemes. Virgil supposedly wrote that “the greatest wealth is health,” though I can’t find any evidence that the poet actually coined such a phrase. (If he had, the Latin words wouldn’t have rhymed.)
Regardless of historical provenance, it’s hard not to see that health bestows a sort of long-term capital — and that wealth makes possible physical and mental maintenance.
This month, we present Memphis Magazine’s annual list of the area’s top physicians, according to peer-reviewed data. Whether you are looking for a specialist or a general practitioner, our list is a good place to start.
Memphis is home to some of the country’s best doctors, and many of the world’s most cutting-edge medical innovations. We are fortunate to have these experts in our community.
Simultaneously, Memphis is home to several of the nation’s most grievous public-health challenges. Yes, residents here experience higher than average rates of all the prevalent American conditions: cancer, diabetes, heart disease. Alongside those conditions, Memphis residents also face a sharply higher incidence of syphilis and HIV than the national average.
Try to stay open, stay curious, keep asking questions. I’m convinced we stay youthful of spirit as long as we keep wondering and seeking.
Over a four-year period from 2018 to 2022, syphilis cases jumped 158 percent here; HIV cases also rose over the same period.
Meanwhile, our air quality has worsened, particularly in poorer areas, with the worst air quality concentrated in South Memphis’ industrial-adjacent neighborhoods. You’re more likely to develop asthma in Memphis than in other places, and the pollen counts aren’t the culprit (though spring’s yellow shellacking surely does not help matters).
People who lack wealth are, too often, deprived of health. It didn’t have to be this way. It doesn’t have to be this way.
I don’t imagine a column in Memphis Magazine is going to change the way we approach healthcare in this country. So, what am I hoping to accomplish? I hope we can all be just a little more intentional about finding common ground.
Here’s a simple prescription: First, take the best care of yourself you can, and empower others in your life to do the same for themselves. It’s the old oxygen-mask logic. We can’t be useful members of community if we are depleted ourselves; we can’t breathe life into others when we’re suffocating.
Just as importantly, look for the helpers — and then join them. Whether that’s supporting a friend or family member through a difficult diagnosis or finding a local organization whose work you admire and can support, helping others will recharge your soul.
One last part of the prescription: Try to stay open, stay curious, keep asking questions. I’m convinced we stay youthful of spirit as long as we keep wondering and seeking. Keep asking for input, keep going for checkups, keep soliciting second and third opinions — about medical questions and about life questions, too. Not one of us knows all the answers (how boring would that be?).
I mean, if I had all the answers, I would have realized sooner that “wealth” and “health” have a third rhyming sibling: “stealth.” That one snuck up on me.
