Trauma Is Changing Your Heart

A look at the long body legacy of traumatic events

In 1986, the Davis Building was Mayo Clinic’s first group practice outside of Rochester. Billy Graham attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The building is white and blocky, like stacked Lego bricks rising out of the swamp. It’s now the cornerstone of an extensive campus.

My dad was the concrete foreman and site manager for the construction of the Davis Building. He has stories of the massive snakes and sudden storms that complicated the build, and I think about him and those stories every time I drive out there. Because of my history with the symptoms that result from trauma stored in the body, I’ve driven out there often.

Last week it was for my heart.