I read an article from the Orlando Sentinel called Social media capture heart surgery in real
time by Marni Jameson. It is about girl who was born with one heart chamber
instead of two (Jameson, 2012). In the United States, this congenital heart
disease affects one out of 600 babies (Jameson, 2012). A few days ago, the
young girl now at age three, had life-extending heart surgery at the Arnold
Palmer Hospital for Children (Jameson, 2012). Without the surgery, it is likely
that the child would not be able to live past her teenage years (Jameson, 2012).
This
story is unlike the others though because it was streamed live through various
social networks. It was also the first time any hospital in the Orlando Health
system streamed live (Jameson, 2012).
Using Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, people in over 20 countries were
able to view what was occurring in the operating room; which included opening
the little girl’s small chest and sewing a Gore-Tex graft onto her beating
heart (Jameson, 2012). Pictures were
posted every ten minutes onto the social media sites and a video will soon be
posted on to YouTube (Jameson, 2012).
The
purpose of streaming live images is to engage and educate the community. The
mother of the child wanted to spread this story to give hope to others who have
loved ones affected by this disease (Jameson, 2012). The downside of spreading
these images throughout the community is that people may be shocked by what
they are going to see (Jameson, 2012). There may be mental consequences of
viewing the inside of the human body or blood.
Personally,
if I were to have surgery, I would not want my procedure to be streamed live to
the community. First, I would be nervous that the quality of the operation
would be decreased. This would be a possibility if any members of the operating
staff were to get sidetracked by the cameras or if the
photographer/videographer were to get in the way of the operating staff.
Second, I think that if something wrong were to happen in the operating room I
would not want that broadcasted to the community.
On the other hand, I would want the
community to be knowledgeable of the procedure. I think that it is important
for not only you to learn about health procedures and diseases, but for others
as well. It is helpful to know that someone else has been in the same position
and you are not alone. A health problem can affect you and many other people’s
lives. It helps you mentally to know that there is hope, help, and support. In which
case, I would write about my experience afterwards if I chose to. That way I could express what happened
through writing and be able to keep some privacy.
Jameson, M. (2012, July 5). Social media capture heart surgery in real time. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved July 11, 2012, from http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-07-05/health/os-social-media-surgery-20120705_1_heart-surgery-social-media-heart-that-pumps-blood
