NurseWeek: Is laughter the best medicine? Texas nurse travels to China with Patch Adams

Is laughter the best medicine?
Texas nurse travels to China with Patch Adams

Interview by Tonie Auer
July 31, 2000


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Marcy Graves, RN, RCP, and her alter ego, Nurse Ducky, will travel to China with Patch Adams to promote humor and goodwill.

Marcy Graves, RN, RCP, is director of Cardiopulmonary and Extended Care Services at Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital in Texas. Graves, a certified respiratory therapy technician, created an alter ego, Nurse Ducky, to entertain patients and help the healing process with laughter. Her sock puppet companion, Quackers, assists her. As Nurse Ducky, Graves will accompany about 30 delegates and physician Patch Adams on a trip to China in September.

How was the idea for Nurse Ducky and Quackers conceived?

I saw the Patch Adams movie and I felt this was God trying to tell me something. I have to be the only premed theater major that came out of North Texas State University [now the University of North Texas], and I thought this is something that I need to do. I had the felt to make the duck, and that was Quackers, and I became Nurse Ducky. That was in February 1999.

What do you think of Patch Adams?

His vision is a lot different than mine, although it coincides in different parts. I disagree with the whole communal system of doing things. But, where he says that we should heal the spirit by treating patients from head to toe, inside and out, spiritually and medically – I agree with that wholeheartedly.

How did you find out about the trip?

I was talking to one of my employees about a patient when the phone rang and I answered it and this voice said, "Hi, this is Patch Adams" and I said, "Sure it is." I thought it was my husband. I said, "Yeah, honey, I don’t have time. I’m busy. What do you need?" and he said, "I wanted you to go to China with me." I said, "I don’t have time to talk to you." He asked if I had caller ID and I told him I was lucky to have a phone. Then he asked if I had a fax machine and I told him yes and he asked for the fax number. He asked me to lay down the phone and go look at it and out printed this letter inviting me to go with him to China. I was very subservient when I got back on the phone and he was cracking up, and said, "This will make a great story later."

What are the goals of the trip?

To promote humor and ambassadorship from the United States to the People’s Republic of China. This is the first time that the communist country has let Americans come in to do this kind of thing. We will meet with our counterparts in the hospitals and see what is going on in medicine the way they do it, and Dr. Adams will be leading some seminars there.

What kind of patients will you be visiting?

We will be going to orphanages, children’s hospitals, primary schools, medical centers, retirement centers, schools for the blind and a lot of homes for the aged.

Why did Patch Adams want to include you in his delegation for this trip?

He had read my abstract, "Is Laughter The Best Medicine?" which had been published, and he was interested in it and felt that I had gone above and beyond trying to find an outcome.

What implications does the trip have for nurses?

I think that people realize that you have to treat the whole person. When we did our study, you could definitely tell that humor has an impact because the numbers are there. The people’s heart rates, blood pressure, respiratory rates, serum cortisone levels all drop significantly and it is because of the humor.

Because humor, although it is not a panacea, does help to deliver the medicine and that is evident every day when we go visit the patients.