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Burdens She came in with her 2-week-old, a healthy boy, for a first visit. “He has these extra nipples,” she said. And yes, there they were, two tiny supernumerary nipples. And then she started to cry. “Look,” I offered. “He has 2 eyes, a nose, 2 lungs, 10 fingers, 10 toes. These 2 little spots won’t ever hurt him. I wish they were the worst thing that ever happens to him.” And I held her hand and she cried. And I thought to myself: How relative it all is. What about the stillborns, the seriously deformed babies, and those whose brains were replaced by CSF? Rejoice, sweet lady, in your very good luck. Could a mother ever cry enough over such children? Howard Fischer, MD Detroit, Michigan

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photographs of NMA members photographs of medical events at the local, regional, national and international levels photographs of old hospital buildings, physician practice sites, medical schools all material or documents pertaining to African-American medical history

We prefer that you send original artwork. Please affix names, dates and titles or describe specific situations where appropriate and necessary. Submissions may appear in future JNMA issues and will be made available to NMA members and other requesting agencies for the purposes of promoting the mission, goals, and objectives of the NMA. All submissions will be handled with the upmost care and promptly returned in the condition in which it was submitted. Please send all documents to: Eddie L. Hoover, MD (112), Editor-in-Chief, JNMA, Department of Surgery, Buffalo VAMC, 3495 Bailey Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14215

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