Gotta Have Heart: Adventures in Copywriting by Jon Wurtmann September 2009
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“Please don’t faint…please don’t faint,” I kept muttering under my surgical mask. Surrounded on all sides by doctors, nurses and stacked carts of beeping machines, there really wasn’t anyplace convenient to faint. Except perhaps into the open chest cavity directly in front of me. The beating heart was a golden yellow, not the purply red I would’ve imagined…if I ever imagined myself standing in a cardiac OR. The heart was bypassed by clear tubing carrying a torrent of blood into pumps, filters, then back again. The cavity where the heart resided was gleaming, pearly white, and attendants suctioned it out regularly to keep the blood and fluids from filling it up.

How did I wind up here anyway? I had recently gotten a call from an old friend, a hot-shot creative director, who asked if I like to write a website for medical tourism. The client was an ultra-modern hospital group in the Caribbean, and they wanted to court medical tourists; folks from the mainland who could save thousands of dollars and still receive top-quality medical care. The idea is a red-hot consumer issue as insurance companies continue to tighten their coverage.

In order to properly convey the experience of traveling for treatment, they invited me down to interview their leading doctors and administrators. In the course of a few short days, I toured and talked with their cardiovascular, orthopedic, pediatric, urology, fertility, oncology, radiation and imaging departments. It was important that I communicate a personal, up-close perspective. I didn’t know quite how close…

The heart surgeon signaled me over with a bloody scalpel to stand beside him at the table — a place of honor — where I could watch his work up close. My armpits got clammy, and I could feel my feet sweating. The other doctors and nurses parted slightly to allow me to slip into place. I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to be part of this exclusive club. But now, here I was. At the head of the table, so to speak.

The very seasoned and capable surgeon worked surely and deftly stitching a new mitral valve into place, explaining very patiently what he was doing and why. I scribbled away on my clipboard, but was far too distracted watching the procedure to really get a good interview.

At that point, my handler got a phone call, right there in the cardiac OR, (proving that you can be found anywhere), and she disappeared back into civilian life, leaving me alone with the surgical team, and of course, the poor sucker on the table. I knew it was no use to try to conduct an interview at this point, but just stand back and take in the experience. Experience maybe being more useful than questions at this point. I drew a deep breath and watched the remainder of the operation, transfixed by the precision, the teamwork, and I dare say, the very ordinariness of this life-saving procedure.

There was a moment of tension when the patient was removed from the electronic stimulator and his own heart restarted, a few false starts there, then his engine caught and started purring again. After that, the atmosphere lightened up considerably, and it was simply housework to put him back together again. As the doctors cauterized the edges of the opening prior to stapling the chest back shut, the smoke wafted up into the bright lights, blue, lazy, serpentine, and incredibly pungent. That’s a smell I won’t forget soon.

The remainder of the visit was a blur of interviews, meetings, and note taking. Back home, replaying the recorder and reviewing my notes, I was able to construct a comprehensive accounting of the hospital complex and the individual departments. Until I got to my cardio page. I had written only 12 words….

Jon Wurtmann is a freelance copywriter and creative director based in Saratoga Springs, NY. He is trained in Persuasive Copywriting, and writes websites, direct mail, catalogs, white papers, magazine stories, and articles. He specializes in Software as a Service, High Tech, Higher Education, Building and Development, Travel & Tourism, Outdoor Recreation, and yes, Medical. He has a stronger stomach than he lets on. See more of his work at http://www.landing.net

Email: jw@landing.net
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