By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    medicare part d benefits
    Everything that You Need to Know About Medicare Part D
    August 15, 2022
    Best Ways to Boost Your Immune System this Winter
    Best Ways to Boost Your Immune System this Winter
    November 15, 2022
    back pain issues
    Ways to Treat Constant Back Pain
    August 21, 2023
    Latest News
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    More On Wellness Programs To Improve Health and Reduce Costs
    January 25, 2012
    Privatizing Social Security and Medicare: Who Can Defuse Political Dynamite?
    June 12, 2011
    Study: Risk of Death in Elderly Patients with Dementia Doubled with Some Antipsychotic Medications
    February 26, 2012
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Bone Black
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Specialties > Bone Black
Specialties

Bone Black

Regina Holliday
Regina Holliday
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE
Ashes.
 
They have always been part of our lives.  We sang of them in our nursery songs.  We heard our mothers speak of a princess who labored in cinders and dreamed of a prince.  And as we grew, ash became less magical and more mundane.  It was in our science lessons.  We snickered to hear that messy wood ash was needed to make soap.  That seemed so wrong, a contradiction terms.
 
The years past and I found ash was needed to make so many things.  Cinder blocks are called cinder blocks because they contain ash.  The ash makes them strong yet light: a perfect building material.   And I learned about charcoal.  I learned the silky beauty of writing with a charred vine or the compressed stick.
 
The years past and I grew beyond drawing with charcoal and focused on paint.   One day I found a new black paint that quickly became my favorite.  The color was so deep and dark.  You could fall into it and never return.  I wondered at the color’s name: Bone Black.  I thought it a joke, for bones are off-white like ivory.  Bones are the color of old lace… unless you burn them.
 
This is “Bone Black” a jacket for Catherine Fairchild.   We were introduced to each other by Susannah Fox who interviewed Catherine about rare disease.  She mailed me this jacket months ago, but time had past and yet the jacket hung within my closet.  It hung on its hanger, the color of bone beside jacket after jacket in black. 

 
As I learned more about Catherine and her story I could see why she would pick this color, this jacket.  Catherine is the mother of two wonderful children: Ella and Billy. 
 
Ella was already a rosy-cheeked toddler when Billy was born in 2002.  The family was happy that Ella would soon have a baby brother.  Catherine had a routine mid-term sonogram during her pregnancy and noticed the report contained CPC codes.  She did not know what that represented so like any good e-patient she registered for 48-hour JAMA subscription.  She found articles that explained those codes were soft markers for many developmental disorders.   She then went through a more thorough sonogram that was inconclusive. 
 
As she neared term Catherine grew concerned that the pregnancy was not doing well.  He was not moving, as he should.  Catherine had another sonogram and was told that she would need a C-section immediately.  The placenta was bad, amniotic fluid was gone and without intervention the he would not survive.
 
Billy was 5lbs at birth and within two weeks birthmarks appeared on his back.  She told her pediatrician about the café-au-lait birthmarks. Could it be the sign of some type of disorder? The doctor brushed off her concerns.  BB continued to grow and meet his milestones, but at three years his coordination was sufficiently poor that the special education teacher at school said Billy should see a pediatric neurologist.
 
Again, tests were inconclusive.
 
A year later, four year old Billy played really hard with a group of boys and then began to limp.  He had a occupational therapy appointment the next day and the therapist concurred with Catherine’s worries, there was something wrong with Billy. He was x-rayed to determine is he broke a bone. 
 
The x-rays determined Billy had lesions all over his bones. 
 
 
Billy has MAS (McCune-Albright Syndrome) a rare genetic disease estimated to effect between 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 1,000,000.  Characteristics of the disease include café-au-lait marks on the skin, and deformities in the bone known as fibrous dysplasia, and endocrine issues.  Many individuals with this disease suffer multiple bone breaks.   Billy has had several major orthopedic surgeries to address the problems with his bones.
 
Billy is doing well, though he spends a lot of time in a wheel chair.  He loves legos and enjoys school.  His mother supports him in all his endeavors.  
 

I painted her gown the color of bone.  She stands tall and defiant as wind whips at her gown.  Ella clings to her back and Billy is in her arms.  Billy holds two oversize BB’s as though they are a baby’s rattle. Catherine holds scrolls that represent the law and information.  She is e: empowered, engaged, and expert at the disease she is fighting.  No wind can lift her off her mooring.  She fights for her BB.
 
I am glad to know Catherine.  I am happy to paint her thus, beautiful and defiant.  I used very little of my favorite black color in this painting.  Her colors are her own.  Bone black is created when bone is burnt at a low temperature, to get white the temperature must be very high.  The crucible purifies the color.
 
Yes, I think I know why Catherine sent me this jacket in this color.   
TAGGED:The Walking Gallery
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
Global Healthcare Policy & Law
July 17, 2025
paramedics in surgical gloves and masks
How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
Health care
July 16, 2025
a woman giving a key
How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
Health
July 16, 2025
a woman with kinesio tapes on her back arm
How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
Health care
July 16, 2025

You Might also Like

neuroscience
Specialties

Neuroscientists Discover Roots of Empathy: What Part of the Brain Helps Us Feel for Others?

October 12, 2013
straightening your teeth
Dental healthNewsSpecialties

Are Lingual Orthodontics or Impress Clear Aligners the Best Option?

June 27, 2022

Stem Cell Treatment Helps Man With Degenerative Arthritis – Video

December 3, 2011
DiabetesSpecialties

4 Clever Ways To Manage Your Diet With Diabetes

April 13, 2020
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?