Doctor's art raises awareness about addiction

Nov. 21—Dr. Arun Kuruvila of Medford has seen patients in their 20s undergo open heart surgery to repair damage caused by drug use.

Bacteria from an infected drug injection site can reach the bloodstream and travel to the heart, where it infects heart valves. Some infections can be knocked out with weeks of antibiotic treatment, but some people suffer such severe damage their heart valves need to be replaced surgically.

"I've seen at least two or three patients who had a valve replaced, went home and came back with a second infection because they relapsed in their drug use and needed that valve to be replaced a second time," Kuruvila said. "It's extensive, extremely high-risk surgery. So going through it twice is really hard."

Kuruvila has seen firsthand the rising number of medical problems, hospitalizations and deaths caused by drug use. He not only helps take care of patients at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford, he's raising awareness about addiction and treatment through his art.

Born in India, Kuruvila excelled in art classes from fifth to eighth grade. He chose to go to medical school and eventually settled in Medford, but he kept painting cityscapes, landscapes and abstract pieces. Later he united his two passions by producing art based on his experiences in medicine.

Most recently, Kuruvila has created a series of digital paintings that explore the toll of addiction while offering hope.

One painting shows a close-up of an eye crying tears and pills, a reference to the addiction, suffering and death caused by prescription opioid pain pills and illegally made pills laced with often-deadly fentanyl.

Kuruvila said prescription medications can ease withdrawal symptoms and curb drug cravings, giving people a better shot at recovering from addiction and staying alive.

Giving people addiction treatment medication after a nonfatal overdose has a better track record of reducing deaths than prescribing blood pressure medication after a heart attack, he said.

Regret, guilt and stigma stop many people from seeking treatment, but medication-assisted treatment is highly effective and saves lives, Kuruvila said.

Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center has hospital-based treatment to get patients started on the road to recovery. Patients then can get connected to further help out in the community.

Doctors recognize patients often are most receptive to help after they've landed in the hospital with a serious medical condition or because of an overdose, Kuruvila said.

His series of paintings about addiction marks the second time Kuruvila has drawn on his medical experiences to create art.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted him to create a series of stark black-and-white paintings honoring the devotion and sacrifices of health care workers and showing the toll on them and patients.

One painting shows a nurse providing hours of nonstop care to a COVID-19 patient on a ventilator undergoing dialysis due to kidney damage. The nurse is fully outfitted in personal protective gear — including a face mask, face shield and medical gown — to minimize exposure to the virus.

"These dialysis nurses have to be in full PPE with their mask, and they cannot leave the room," Kuruvila said. "They are in an isolation room with the patient throughout the dialysis. That's very stressful. You cannot go in and out. They have to stay with them."

While working during the pandemic, Kuruvila said he saw healthy-looking people who would suddenly get worse, have to go on a ventilator and then die. Some patients had to stay in the hospital for more than a month because they needed high levels of supplemental oxygen. Staffing shortages, long work hours and fears of COVID-19 exposure created extreme stress levels for health care workers.

Kuruvila's COVID-19 series was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. This week, many of his health care-related paintings are on display at a gallery in Mumbai. He's shown a variety of his artwork locally and across America.

Dr. Erin Bender, a colleague who also treats patients at Asante's Medford hospital, said Kuruvila's art captures the experience of health care workers and patients through both the COVID-19 pandemic and the drug epidemic in America.

"His paintings are creating awareness," she said. "They really are touching. You can relate to them in a visual way. They show what you've been experiencing and what patients have been experiencing. I'm in awe, not just because of his artwork, but because he's a phenomenal doctor."

Reach Mail Tribune reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or valdous@rosebudmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @VickieAldous.