Who Rescues Who?

I was having dinner with fellow patient safety advocates recently and the opening phrase from Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina came to mind: All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unique in its own way. We were all seated at this same dinner table, now longtime friends and colleagues, because of the death of Michelle Malizzo Ballog due to medical error. Michelle was the oldest daughter and the heart of a large Italian family. The day after she died, her youngest daughter turned one year old. Her eldest daughter was just eight. Three generations of the Malizzo family were with us that evening, including Michelle’s oldest daughter, now a college graduate moving west to start her first “real” job. All of us were still grieving Michelle’s death in our own way.

As our conversation circled round, I realized that we’re all fabulously damaged and recovering from something. We all have good days, bad days, blah days, exciting opportunities, challenges, obstacles…and we all manage to keep moving forward through this life. Friend and colleague, Martin Hatlie, who was with us and whose resume, accomplishments and passion for keeping patients safe would fill this issue, was the one who suggested the theme of this issue: Animals and Health. Marty is an animal lover like so many of us attached to PSM, and I wondered why we hadn’t thought of it sooner. Animals—large and small—help humans heal in large and small ways. From therapy dogs and support animals who also serve as trusted confidantes to horses with strong withers that have weathered many tears, animals have long enabled and supported our emotions, evolution, and existence. They are also vulnerable populations without a voice which is at the heart of our Please See Me mission.

On the cover of this issue are some of the mistreated, damaged, and now rescued thoroughbred horses I have come to know and love over the last 18 months volunteering at the Illinois Equine Humane Center in Maple Park, IL. Zingy (JC:Zingy Baroness) is in the forefront during a spring shaving of her heavy winter coat exacerbated by a metabolic condition that frequently affects horses. In the center is Winnie (JC: Way of Success). If I had to pick my favorite, Winnie would be it. She’s strong, spirited, and sensitive and was retired from racing after suffering a bone chip in her knee at six years old. Luckily, through the networking of our founder, Gail Vacca, Winnie made it to us via a network of caring and protective humans watching over Off-the-Track-Thoroughbreds (OTTBs), which all too often ends in the unscrupulous hands of those looking to make money via kill pens. Foxy (JC: Alpha Fox) is in the back. Foxy, like many of our rescue horses at ILEHC, comes from champion bloodlines and was used as a broodmare, racing only once. She almost died while birthing her final foal, and was then discarded no longer useful to those looking to profit at her expense. Both Foxy and Winnie were brought to ILEHC to rehab and retrain, and to keep Zingy company while they wait for their forever owner to find them.

If I circle back to our theme of Animals and Health, it was Zingy Baroness (1995 ~ 2023) who first showed me how powerful the healing energy of horses can be. It was on the day I stood holding her lead rope for 45 minutes while our groomer used a tool barely powerful enough to get through one side of her thick, wavy coat. Mares do not like to be separated, and though we kept Zingy within sight line of her new herd mates, the sting of losing two of her herd just months earlier was beneath her sweet, calm demeanor. When I first met Zing, she was inconsolable — pacing and whinnying desperately in an indoor turnout area, searching and calling for Lexi and Mary who died within 24 hours of one another leaving Zingy the only mare in the barn. I would soon learn that horses, though strong and powerful, are also fragile.

Standing there stroking her neck and scratching her head, I had only been volunteering and around horses for less than three months. I was in awe in their presence. As we stood there, I began telling her she was “okay” and that she was a “good girl,” a “beautiful girl” to the beat of the buzz of the clipping tool. Just being next to her, I was calmed as I tried to soothe her — my resting heartrate felt like it dropped below 60bpm. I felt connected to her and together we found a peaceful zone of comfort.

Over the last 18 months, all the ILEHC horses and humans have taught me so much, most importantly perhaps is patience and a revival of my passion for learning. Horses also require complete attention and presence when they are near which in fact is a gift that makes moments come to life. Time at the barn stands still in a world that is only accelerating in its demands and volume of information to manage.

In this issue, not only will you find our Mental Health Awareness Writing Contest Winners, Alice Ranjan (Fiction), Dorothy O’Donnell (Creative Nonfiction) and Darcy Smith (Poetry), but also heartfelt stories about the ways in which animals soothe our human souls and reminders that so many animals are still at risk—used and abused for our benefit. We thank all our writers and poets for their contributions to this issue, as well as those who continue to support Please See Me through their continued submissions and visits to our literary magazine.

With darkness there is always light, and though the medical harm that took Michelle Ballog’s life is still a concern, patient advocacy groups such as Patients for Patient Safety US, led by huge-hearted, passionate people like Martin Hatlie, Armando Nahum, Beth Daley Ullem, Sue Sheridan, Carole Hemmelgarn, Soojin Jun, Col. Steven Coffee, Alicia Cole, and Steve and Margo Burrows, are working to keep us safe in the healthcare system. Similarly, rescue horses, like Zingy, are incredibly vulnerable and the egregiously inhumane treatment by those looking to profit at their expense is horrifying. It’s people like Sarah Mowat, Gail Vacca, and Justine Dover at ILEHC who lead a small crew of passionate volunteers, who dedicate time and resources to care for a small fraction of those vulnerable animals across the country. Animal rescue organizations in the US are in need of funding to continue to save as many animals as we can. Please consider donating to organizations like ILEHC or make “adoption your next option” when bringing a dog, cat, or horse into your life.

Tracy Granzyk is the editor in chief of Please See Me.