“COVID-19: The Prickly Menace That Made Us Bloom”
Kelly McGregory, DO
Digital Photo
Artist Statement
“This golden barrel cactus with Santa rita prickly pear grows in the Ventana Canyon in Tucson, Arizona. The COVID-19 virus wreaked havoc costing millions of lives, shuttering businesses, and impacting the education and mental health of our children in previously unimaginable ways. Despite its wretchedness, the pandemic helped us bloom in the worst of circumstances. We survived. We tell our stories. Although still not free, we keep blooming.”
Artist Info
Dr. Kelly McGregory is a clinical associate professor of pediatrics, interim chief of Child Protection Division and an associate program director of the Pediatric Residency Program at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.