Latif Nasser: The amazing story of the man who gave us modern pain relief

Prevodilac: Sonja Simijonovic Lektor: Mile Živković

A few years ago,

Pre par godina,

my mom developed rheumatoid arthritis.

moja majka je dobila reumatoidni artritis.

Her wrists, knees and toes swelled up, causing crippling, chronic pain.

Zglobovi, kolena i prsti su joj otekli i izazvali onesposobljavajuć hroničan bol.

She had to file for disability.

Postala je invalid.

She stopped attending our local mosque.

Prestala je da ide u našu džamiju.

Some mornings it was too painful for her to brush her teeth.

Bilo je jutara kada joj je i pranje zuba bilo previše bolno.

I wanted to help.

Želeo sam da pomognem.

But I didn't know how.

Ali nisam znao kako.

I'm not a doctor.

Nisam doktor.

So, what I am is a historian of medicine.

Jesam istoričar medicine.

So I started to research the history of chronic pain.

Tako sam počeo da istražujem istoriju hroničnog bola.

Turns out, UCLA has an entire history of pain collection

Ispostavlja se da UCLA ima čitavu kolekciju istorije bola

in their archives.

u svojim arhivima.

And I found a story -- a fantastic story --

Naišao sam na fantastičnu priču

of a man who saved -- rescued -- millions of people from pain;

o čoveku koji je spasio milione ljudi od bola;

people like my mom.

ljude kao što je moja majka.

Yet, I had never heard of him.

Iako nisam čuo ništa o njemu,

There were no biographies of him, no Hollywood movies.

nije bilo njegovih biografija ili holivudskih filmova.

His name was John J. Bonica.

Zvao se Džon Dž. Bonika.

But when our story begins,

Ali u vreme početka naše priče,

he was better known as Johnny "Bull" Walker.

bio je poznat kao Džoni "Bik" Voker.

It was a summer day in 1941.

Letnji dan 1941. godine.

The circus had just arrived in the tiny town of Brookfield, New York.

Cirkus tek što je stigao u maleni grad Brukfild u Njujorku.

Spectators flocked to see the wire-walkers, the tramp clowns --

Posmatrači su se gurali da vide hodače na žici, klovnove -

if they were lucky, the human cannonball.

ako su imali sreće, i čoveka đule.

They also came to see the strongman, Johnny "Bull" Walker,

Došli su da vide i snagatora, Džonija "Bika" Vokera.

a brawny bully who'd pin you for a dollar.

mišićavog siledžiju koji bi vas oborio za dolar.

You know, on that particular day, a voice rang out

Baš tog dana čuo se glas

over the circus P.A. system.

na cirkuskom razglasu.

They needed a doctor urgently, in the live animal tent.

Hitno im je trebao doktor u šatoru sa životinjama.

Something had gone wrong with the lion tamer.

Nešto se desilo krotitelju lavova.

The climax of his act had gone wrong,

Vrhunac njegove tačke pošao je po zlu

and his head was stuck inside the lion's mouth.

i glava mu je bila zaglavljena u lavljim čeljustima.

He was running out of air;

Nestajao mu je vazduh;

the crowd watched in horror

masa je sa užasom gledala kako se borio,

as he struggled and then passed out.

a zatim onesvestio.

When the lion finally did relax its jaws,

Kada je lav konačno popustio stisak,

the lion tamer just slumped to the ground, motionless.

krotitelj se srušio na zemlju, nepomičan.

When he came to a few minutes later,

Kada se nakon par minuta osvestio,

he saw a familiar figure hunched over him.

video je poznatu siluetu nagnutu nad njim.

It was Bull Walker.

Bio je to "Bik" Voker.

The strongman had given the lion tamer mouth-to-mouth, and saved his life.

Snagator je spasio život krotitelju pruživši mu veštačko disanje.

Now, the strongman hadn't told anyone,

Snagator nikome nije rekao,

but he was actually a third-year medical student.

ali on je zapravo bio na trećoj godini medicinskog fakulteta.

He toured with the circus during summers to pay tuition,

Radio je u cirkusu preko leta da bi platio školarinu,

but kept it a secret to protect his persona.

ali je to krio da bi zaštitio svoj ugled.

He was supposed to be a brute, a villain --

Trebalo je da bude zver, zlikovac;

not a nerdy do-gooder.

a ne štreber i dobrica.

His medical colleagues didn't know his secret, either.

Ni njegove kolege na fakultetu nisu znale tu tajnu.

As he put it, "If you were an athlete, you were a dumb dodo."

Kako je rekao, "Ako si bio sportista, bio si glupan."

So he didn't tell them about the circus,

Nije im rekao za cirkus,

or about how he wrestled professionally on evenings and weekends.

ni za svoje profesionalno rvanje večerima i vikendima.

He used a pseudonym like Bull Walker,

Koristio je pseudonim "Bik" Voker,

or later, the Masked Marvel.

a kasnije Maskirano Čudo.

He even kept it a secret that same year,

To je čak ostala tajna i one godine

when he was crowned the Light Heavyweight Champion

kada je postao svetski šampion

of the world.

u poluteškoj kategoriji.

Over the years, John J. Bonica lived these parallel lives.

Godinama je Džon Dž. Bonika živeo paralelnim životima.

He was a wrestler;

Bio je rvač;

he was a doctor.

bio je doktor.

He was a heel;

Bio je zlikovac;

he was a hero.

bio je heroj.

He inflicted pain,

Nanosio je bol,

and he treated it.

i lečio ga.

And he didn’t know it at the time, but over the next five decades,

Tada nije znao, ali u sledećih 50 godina

he'd draw on these dueling identities

iz ovih sukobljenih identiteta

to forge a whole new way to think about pain.

proizvešće potpuno novo razmišljanje o bolu.

It'd change modern medicine so much so, that decades later,

Promeniće modernu medicinu u toj meri, da će ga decenijama kasnije

Time magazine would call him pain relief's founding father.

časopis Tajm proglasiti osnivačem tehnika ublažavanja bola.

But that all happened later.

Sve se to desilo kasnije.

In 1942, Bonica graduated medical school and married Emma,

1942. Bonika je diplomirao medicinu i oženio se Emom,

his sweetheart, whom he had met at one of his matches years before.

svojom dragom, koju je upoznao na jednom meču godinama ranije.

He still wrestled in secret -- he had to.

I dalje se tajno rvao - morao je.

His internship at New York's St. Vincent's Hospital paid nothing.

Nije primao platu dok je stažirao u bolnici Sv. Vinsenta u Njujorku.

With his championship belt, he wrestled in big-ticket venues,

Pošto je bio šampion, rvao se na prestižnim mestima,

like Madison Square Garden,

kao što je Medison Skver Garden,

against big-time opponents,

protiv ozbiljnih protivnika

like Everett "The Blonde Bear" Marshall,

kao što je Everet "Plavi Medved" Maršal,

or three-time world champion, Angelo Savoldi.

ili trostruki svetski šampion, Anđelo Savoldi.

The matches took a toll on his body;

Mečevi su ostavili traga na njemu;

he tore hip joints, fractured ribs.

dislocirao je kukove, lomio rebra.

One night, The Terrible Turk's big toe scratched a scar like Capone's

Jedne noći mu je Strašni Turčin palcem na nozi napravio ožiljak na licu

down the side of his face.

pa je izgledao kao Kapone.

The next morning at work, he had to wear a surgical mask to hide it.

Sutradan na poslu morao je da nosi masku da bi sakrio ranu.

Twice Bonica showed up to the O.R. with one eye so bruised,

Dva puta se pojavio u operacionoj sali sa okom toliko naduvenim

he couldn't see out of it.

da nije mogao na njega da vidi.

But worst of all were his mangled cauliflower ears.

Najgore od svega bile su njegove unakažene uši poput karfiola.

He said they felt like two baseballs on the sides of his head.

Rekao je da su kao dve bejzbol loptice koje mu vise sa glave.

Pain just kept accumulating in his life.

Bol se samo nakupljao u njegovom životu.

Next, he watched his wife go into labor at his hospital.

Kasnije je posmatrao svoju ženu kako se porađa u njegovoj bolnici.

She heaved and pushed, clearly in anguish.

Uzdisala je i gurala, očigledno u mukama.

Her obstetrician called out to the intern on duty

Njen akušer pozvao je dežurnog stažistu

to give her a few drops of ether to ease her pain.

da joj da par kapi etra da bi joj olakšao bol.

But the intern was a young guy, just three weeks on the job --

Ali stažista je bio mlad, sa samo tri nedelje iskustva;

he was jittery, and in applying the ether,

bio je nervozan, i kada joj je davao etar,

irritated Emma's throat.

iritirao je Emino grlo.

She vomited and choked, and started to turn blue.

Povraćala je i počela da se guši, a lice joj je poplavelo.

Bonica, who was watching all this, pushed the intern out of the way,

Bonika, koji je sve gledao, gurnuo je stažistu u stranu,

cleared her airway,

oslobodio joj disajni put

and saved his wife and his unborn daughter.

i spasio svoju ženu i nerođenu ćerku.

At that moment, he decided to devote his life to anesthesiology.

Tog trenutka odlučio je da život posveti anesteziologiji.

Later, he'd even go on to help develop the epidural, for delivering mothers.

Kasnije je radio na razvoju epiduralne anestezije pri porođaju.

But before he could focus on obstetrics,

Da bi dospeo do akušerstva,

Bonica had to report for basic training.

Bonika je morao da prođe osnovnu obuku.

Right around D-Day,

Baš oko Dana D,

Bonica showed up to Madigan Army Medical Center,

Bonika odlazi u Vojni medicinski centar u Mediganu

near Tacoma.

u blizini Takome.

At 7,700 beds, it was one of the largest army hospitals in America.

Sa 7.700 kreveta, bila je jedna od najvećih vojnih bolnica u Americi.

Bonica was in charge of all pain control there.

Bonika je bio zadužen za ublažavanje bola.

He was only 27.

Imao je samo 27 godina.

Treating so many patients, Bonica started noticing cases

Lečeći toliko pacijenata, Bonika je počeo primećivati

that contradicted everything he had learned.

slučajeve koji su protivrečili svemu što je znao.

Pain was supposed to be a kind of alarm bell -- in a good way --

Bol je trebalo da bude zdravo upozorenje,

a body's way of signaling an injury, like a broken arm.

signal koji telo stvara kada nastane povreda.

But in some cases,

Ali u nekim slučajevima,

like after a patient had a leg amputated,

kao nakon amputacije noge,

that patient might still complain of pain in that nonexistent leg.

pacijent se ipak žalio na bol u nepostojećoj nozi.

But if the injury had been treated, why would the alarm bell keep ringing?

Ako je povreda izlečena, zašto upozorenje i dalje postoji?

There were other cases in which there was no evidence of an injury whatsoever,

Postojali su i slučajevi u kojima nije bilo nikakve povrede,

and yet, still the patient hurt.

a ipak se pacijent žalio na bol.

Bonica tracked down all the specialists at his hospital -- surgeons,

Bonika se našao sa specijalistima u svojoj bolnici -

neurologists, psychiatrists, others.

hirurzima, neurolozima, psihijatrima i drugima.

And he tried to get their opinions on his patients.

Zatražio je njihova mišljenja o pacijentima.

It took too long, so he started organizing group meetings over lunch.

To je predugo trajalo, pa je organizovao sastanke za vreme ručka.

It would be like a tag team of specialists going up against the patient's pain.

Stvorio je tim specijalista koji su se borili protiv bola.

No one had ever focused on pain this way before.

Niko se do tad nije skoncentrisao na bol na ovaj način.

After that, he hit the books.

Nakon toga, počeo je da čita.

He read every medical textbook he could get his hands on,

Pročitao je svaku knjigu o medicini koju je mogao da nađe,

carefully noting every mention of the word "pain."

beležeći svaki put kada bi se spomenula reč "bol".

Out of the 14,000 pages he read,

Od 14.000 strana koje je pročitao,

the word "pain" was on 17 and a half of them.

reč "bol" nalazila se na 17 i po.

Seventeen and a half.

Sedamnaest i po.

For the most basic, most common, most frustrating part of being a patient.

Za najosnovniji, najčešći, najviše frustrirajući osećaj svakog pacijenta.

Bonica was shocked -- I'm quoting him,

Bonika je bio zaprepašćen - citiram,

he said, "What the hell kind of conclusion can you come to there?

"Do kakvog zaključka se odande može doći?

The most important thing from the patient's perspective,

O najbitnijoj stvari iz perspektive pacijenta

they don't talk about."

oni uopšte ne govore."

So over the next eight years, Bonica would talk about it.

Tako je sledećih osam godina Bonika govorio o tome.

He'd write about it; he'd write those missing pages.

Pisao je o tome; ispisao je stranice koje nedostaju.

He wrote what would later be known as the Bible of Pain.

Napisao je knjigu kasnije poznatu kao Biblija Bola.

In it he proposed new strategies,

U njoj je izlagao nove strategije,

new treatments using nerve-block injections.

nove postupke anestetiziranja nerava.

He proposed a new institution, the Pain Clinic,

Predložio je instituciju, Kliniku Bola,

based on those lunchtime meetings.

koja se zasnivala na onim sastancima za vreme ručka.

But the most important thing about his book

Najbitnija stvar u vezi sa njegovom knjigom

was that it was kind of an emotional alarm bell for medicine.

je to što je predstavljala emotivno buđenje u medicini.

A desperate plea to doctors to take pain seriously

Molba doktorima da shvate bol ozbiljno

in patients' lives.

u životima svojih pacijenata.

He recast the very purpose of medicine.

Izmenio je sam smisao medicine.

The goal wasn't to make patients better;

Cilj nije bio da pacijentu bude bolje;

it was to make patients feel better.

cilj je bio da se pacijent oseća bolje.

He pushed his pain agenda for decades,

Decenijama je pričao o bolu,

before it finally took hold in the mid-'70s.

Do '70-ih kada je konačno dobio priznanje.

Hundreds of pain clinics sprung up all over the world.

Stotine klinika za bol pojavile su se u svetu.

But as they did -- a tragic twist.

Ali dok se to dešavalo, desila se i jedna tragična stvar.

Bonica's years of wrestling caught up to him.

Godine rvanja ostavile su posledice na Boniki.

He had been out of the ring for over 20 years,

Nije bio u ringu više od 20 godina,

but those 1,500 professional bouts had left a mark on his body.

ali tih 1.500 mečeva ostavilo je trag na njegovom telu.

Still in his mid-50s, he suffered severe osteoarthritis.

Još u 50-im godinama dobio je ozbiljan osteoartritis.

Over the next 20 years he'd have 22 surgeries,

Za sledećih 20 godina imao je 22 operacije,

including four spine operations,

od čega četiri operacije kičme,

and hip replacement after hip replacement.

i mnogobrojne operacije kukova.

He could barely raise his arm, turn his neck.

Jedva je dizao ruke i okretao vrat.

He needed aluminum crutches to walk.

Bile su mu potrebne štake da bi hodao.

His friends and former students became his doctors.

Prijatelji i bivši studenti postali su mu doktori.

One recalled that he probably had more nerve-block injections

Jedan je izjavio da je on verovatno primio više anestezija

than anyone else on the planet.

nego iko na planeti.

Already a workaholic, he worked even more --

Već radoholičar, radio je još više -

15- to 18-hour days.

15 do 18 sati dnevno.

Healing others became more than just his job,

Lečenje mu je postalo više od posla,

it was his own most effective form of relief.

njegov najefektivniji oblik olakšanja.

"If I wasn't as busy as I am," he told a reporter at the time,

"Da nisam ovako zauzet," rekao je jednom reporteru,

"I would be a completely disabled guy."

"bio bih potpuni invalid."

On a business trip to Florida in the early 1980s,

Na poslovnom putu na Floridi ranih '80-ih,

Bonica got a former student to drive him to the Hyde Park area in Tampa.

Bonika se sa studentom odvezao do parka Hajd u Tampi.

They drove past palm trees and pulled up to an old mansion,

Prolazili su pored palmi i zaustavili se kraj stare vile,

with giant silver howitzer cannons hidden in the garage.

sa ogromnim topovima skrivenim u garaži.

The house belonged to the Zacchini family,

Kuća je pripadala porodici Zakini,

who were something like American circus royalty.

koji su bili nešto poput cirkuske aristokratije u Americi.

Decades earlier, Bonica had watched them,

Godinama ranije, Bonika ih je gledao,

clad in silver jumpsuits and goggles,

obučene u srebrna odela sa naočarima,

doing the act they pioneered -- the Human Cannonball.

kako izvode tačku koju su smislili - Čovek đule.

But now they were like him: retired.

Sada su bili kao i on - u penziji.

That generation is all dead now, including Bonica,

Ta generacija, zajedno sa Bonikom, sada je nestala

so there's no way to know exactly what they said that day.

tako da se ne može znati o čemu su tada pričali.

But still, I love imagining it.

Ipak, volim da zamišljam.

The strongman and the human cannonballs reunited,

Snagator i Ljudi đulad ponovo na okupu,

showing off old scars, and new ones.

hvale se starim i novim ožiljcima.

Maybe Bonica gave them medical advice.

Možda im je Bonika dao savete u vezi zdravlja.

Maybe he told them what he later said in an oral history,

Možda im je rekao ono što je i kasnije izjavio u usmenom predanju,

which is that his time in the circus and wrestling deeply molded his life.

da su život u cirkusu i rvanje duboko obeležili njegov život.

Bonica saw pain close up.

Bonika je gledao bolu u oči.

He felt it. He lived it.

Osetio ga je. Živeo ga.

And it made it impossible for him to ignore in others.

Zbog toga nije mogao da ga ne primeti u drugima.

Out of that empathy, he spun a whole new field,

Iz te empatije, razvio je celo polje,

played a major role in getting medicine to acknowledge pain

imao ogromnu ulogu u borbi sa medicinom oko shvatanja bola

in and of itself.

kao nezavisne pojave.

In that same oral history,

U tom istom usmenom predanju,

Bonica claimed that pain

Bonika je tvrdio da je bol

is the most complex human experience.

najsloženije ljudsko iskustvo.

That it involves your past life, your current life,

Da uključuje vašu prošlost, sadašnjost,

your interactions, your family.

interakcije, porodicu.

That was definitely true for Bonica.

Ovo se sigurno odnosilo na Boniku.

But it was also true for my mom.

Ali se takođe odnosi i na moju majku.

It's easy for doctors to see my mom

Doktorima je lako da je vide

as a kind of professional patient,

sa profesionalne strane,

a woman who just spends her days in waiting rooms.

kao ženu koja život provodi u čekaonicama.

Sometimes I get stuck seeing her that same way.

Ponekad je čak i ja tako vidim.

But as I saw Bonica's pain --

Ali kada sam video Bonikin bol,

a testament to his fully lived life --

dokaz života proživljenog punim plućima,

I started to remember all the things that my mom's pain holds.

počeo sam se prisećati svih stvari koje nosi bol moje majke.

Before they got swollen and arthritic,

Pre nego što su otekli i ukočili se,

my mom's fingers clacked away

prsti moje majke su vredno kuckali

in the hospital H.R. department where she worked.

u kadrovskoj službi bolnice u kojoj je radila.

They folded samosas for our entire mosque.

Spremali su samose za celu našu džamiju.

When I was a kid, they cut my hair,

Kad sam bio mali, šišali su mi kosu,

wiped my nose,

brisali nos,

tied my shoes.

vezivali pertle.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)