Death T-shirts in the News

a href=”http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-0601080459jan08,1,7006600.story?coll=chi-health-hed”Here is a an article /aabout a href=”http://www.cafepress.com/medtees/616561″Medtees.com /ain the Chicago Tribune today with some quotes from me touting the humor of these t-shirts. But the message of these shirts for people who are ill is a serious one:br /br /blockquoteThe MedTees T-shirts are the brainchild of Evanston Northwestern physician Wes Fisher and his wife, Diane. Fed up with a culture that they say resists the natural processes of aging and illness like leprosy, the Fishers’ idea allows patients and people with illnesses to poke fun at their ailments.br /br /”It’s kind of a countercultural idea,” Wes Fisher said in the kitchen of his home. “People in Western culture really don’t think it’s OK to have an illness or be sick. We have a media image of the perfect body.”/blockquotebr /br /I remember after my heart attack that doctors told me that no one would know that I had an “imperfect body” but a cardiologist, but I know it everyday–and sure as hell don’t try to hide it. People get sick and they get old–so what? It is part of the human condition–but rising above it to do the best we can with the life we have is the answer, not trying to pretend that we are immortal.