David Meade Walker medical records

This collection contains material collected by artist David Meade Walker and his sister, Sharon Eisenhour, from 1994-2012. It is composed of medical records, legal documents, personal correspondence, and digital storage devices that preserves a comprehensive record of nearly 20 years of medical care to manage David’s HIV-AIDS, kaposi sarcoma, lymphoma, and other medical conditions and complications. Researchers will also find an extensive collection of digital media, including photographs of David’s life and artwork. This collection will be of use to any researchers interested in medical history, HIV research, and a carefully planned, intentional approach to death and dying.

The arrangement of this collection largely follows David’s own meticulous schema of self-documentation, across eleven series. Series 1, Summary of care, contains the contents of a bound “Summary of care” notebook assembled by David in June of 2012, including prescriptions, medical history, labs, reports, and referrals.

Series 2, Medical correspondence, contains correspondence from David’s care team, including his primary care practice, Brown and Toland, and specialists within the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) hospital system.

Series 3, Hospitalizations and procedures, contains documents relating to two separate hospitalizations in 2008 and 2009, as well as a botched PICC line placement in 2008. It also contains documents relating to his transfer to hospice care in 2012, first at Hospice by the Bay, then at Zen Hospice. This also includes the only physical instance of David’s art in the collection, an imagined self portrait of the artist’s body, floating above the ground, on an “in memoriam” card published by Zen Hospice.

Series 4, Copays and statements, contains a comprehensive set of copay statements and receipts from 1994 through 2012.

Series 5, Retirement and disability, contains documents concerning David’s retirement from UCSF in 1994, including his explanations of benefits and application for disability and social security. David’s rigorous self-advocacy is exemplified in a set of correspondence from 2010-2011, including a letter to Nancy Pelosi, seeking assistance in correcting an administrative error in his social security account.

Series 6, Legal documents, contains legal and estate planning documents, including durable power of attorney (DPOA) in 1994 and 1995, his picks for hospice care in 1997, and four variations of his will from 1993-2012.

Series 7, Private medical and financial assistance enrollment, contains applications and correspondence from private and nonprofit medical assistance programs, including the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and MedicAlert.

Series 8, Personal documents, contains the few personal physical documents within the collection, including correspondence with “David’s Team”, a group of friends, family, and neighbors who coordinated social visits, assistance with chores, and rides to appointments. It also contains correspondence with his sister, Sharon, where David’s humor and care for his family is readily apparent. Two planners from 2009 and 2010/2011 demonstrate how packed David’s schedule was with medical appointments, as well as the fullness of his life and social network outside of a medical context. It also contains personal financial documents related to his housing and utilities, as well as premiums and correspondence for both medical and life insurance policies.

Series 9, Sharon Eisenhour’s documents, contains material collected by Sharon in the wake of David’s death, including final payouts, tax documents, and closing of accounts from his insurance networks and disability benefits. A selection of handwritten notes concerning medications and check-ups highlights Sharon’s participation in David’s care during his lifetime.

Series 10, Digital storage devices, contains media, including a full backup of David’s personal computer from 2012, which features a large collection of personal photographs of his art, friends, family, garden, and apartment. Of particular note is a letter to a friend, John (Nov 11 00.doc), wherein David describes his struggle to find peace with his mortality, and the acceptance and management of emotional and physical suffering. There is also an SD card with a small selection of photographs from his personal camera, as well as a set of ten CDs with medical imaging from PET scans, MRIs, and KUB scans.

Series 11, Photographic media, contains the final object in the collection—an undated framed photograph of David on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay, taken by Sharon.