Dr. Sanchez’s Crane

This page is a blog about an origami crane made for my former primary care physician, Dr. Sanchez.

Primary Care Physician Woes⌂

For a long time I had a primary care physician at UAB. Then, she left. I contacted the Primary Care division of UAB and was told they were not taking new patients. I was not a new patient. Irrelevant. Long story short, I was unable to find a primary care physican. As a heart attack and stroke survivor who also suffers from cardivascular disease and diabetes, medicines had become a very import part of my daily routine. This did not seem to matter to the, er, fine folks at UAB.

Eventually, I found a primary care physician for whom I garned both liking and respect as a medical practitioner, Dr. Sanchez.

I should have expected that UAB was not done affecting the state of my medical care. In their great wisdom they chose to change the availabillity of primary care providers available to their insurance holders (through VIVA Health) to only their primary care physicians.

Dr. Sanchez is not in their network.

A Crane for Dr. Sanchez⌂

I decided to design and fold a special crane for Dr. Sanchez. During her time as my primary care physician, she displayed the kind of professionalism and caring one might expect from an excellent medical practitioner. Given my recent issues with the health-care industry’s apparent indifference to my wants and needs, the care she provided was a breath of fresh air.

The Design⌂

As usual, I cranked up Corel Draw (a vector-based graphics program) and started designing. The result is below.

The Elements

The Filigree Heart expresses my appreciation and thankfulness for having had Dr. Sanchez as my primary care physician.
Grandview Logo indicates the organization under which Dr. Sanchez was employed while my primary care physician.
The Caduceus is the universal symbol of medical practioners.
The Hippocrtic Oath (background) The Hippocratic Oath is an oath of ethics historically taken by physicians. It is one of the most widely known of Greek medical texts. In its original form, it requires a new physician to swear, by a number of healing gods, to uphold specific ethical standards. The oath is the earliest expression of medical ethics in the Western world, establishing several principles of medical ethics which remain of paramount significance today.
The Line of Hearts a line of ornamental hearts visually tying the main elements together.

The Folded Crane⌂

Below, we have the folded crane. Notice how the green blocks at two of the design’s corners were converted to highlights on the tail and head of the crane.

Envelope and Insert⌂

I designed, printed, and folded a small envelope so I could include a small insert with the crane. Below, we have the front and back of the envelope.

Front

Back

Inside the envelope is a small card explaining why I gave her the crane.

The Final Presentation⌂

Because cranes are delicate, I took care to preserve the form. First, I tried to coat a crane with a polyurethane coating as I have done before with many cranes. The paper that I used for this crane did not take well to being coated so I had to switch gears. I purchased an inexpensive plastic display box with one side and the bottom mirrored and placed the crane in it.

I had to nix the idea of a presentation case because I was not happy with any of the cases available on Amazon.

So, I used multiple coats of Mod Podge, an clear, matte-finish acrylic sealer to strenghthen the form. I’ll present the crane and the envelope as a set.