1. A nurse who works with a physician specializing in the treatment of menopausal women, recently discovered that those women who had abortions are much more likely to cancel their hysterectomy at the last moment.

Conclusion - Many who had an abortion when they were young hung onto the illusion that they would have children later. If a hysterectomy is recommended for menorrhagia, fibroids etc. women are confronted with the final denouncements that they will never have children; they will never hear the voice of children crying; they will never hold a naked infant to their breast. Rather than deal with that grief, they try to deny reality and refuse a hysterectomy.

2. After the war, Ivy's father came home to find his wife in the arms of another man. The other man had also been a soldier, but came home earlier because of wounds. On discovering this, the father left and was not heard of for a very long time.

Ivy grew up hating her stepfather and yearning to find her real father. Eventually she found him. He was the "mayor" of Gastown in a west coast city in the United States. He was known for his clownish antics and his heavy drinking. People enjoyed laughing at him. His daughter was most embarrassed. He wanted respect from his children, but constantly enticed laughter from onlookers. There is a deep contradiction for those unhappy people who become clowns in various guises and at the same time want the respect of their children.

Back to Instructive Cases