A Thank You to Dr. Pimple Popper

Dear Dr. Pimple Popper,

I know you will likely never read this letter, but I am writing it nonetheless. You’ve impacted me so much this past week, that I wanted to share my gratefulness.

It’s been a little rough in my life lately. I’m in the middle of closing my art therapy studio and moving across the country. I say “in the middle” because it hasn’t fully happened yet. I’m still saying goodbye to clients. I’m still waiting for my last client before I start packing. I’m still discerning what from my home and studio I want to lug across the country. It’s a lot of emotion, and a lot of … well, waiting.

I want the feeling of completion and accomplishment. Enter your show. I randomly came across you last week. It was late at night and I was feeling restless. My mind is so full of thoughts during this change that restlessness is to be expected.

Illustration by Jackie Schuld

When I found your show, I was entranced. At first, I thought it would be about some boring pimple pops. Oh goodness no. It is so much more than that. People walk into your office with horrific bumps and malformations. You offer such compassion and care as you examine them. THEN, you take care of the problem! They get to walk out with such happiness and their lives are forever changed.

I wish it was that simple in therapy. It’s not. It’s about the long game. This is yet another reason why your show was so perfect for me. It provided me with that joy of completion and conclusion. I felt like I could live vicariously through you.

Furthermore, watching your show gives me hope for other doctors. You treat people the way I wish every doctor would. The only other doctor that rivals your compassion is my dermatologist (I wrote a whole essay about her called “The Standard of Care I Wish All Doctors Lived By". Do you think your compassion has something to do with you both being dermatologists or is that just a coincidence?

Either way, I appreciate who you are. Your show has even reduced my own fears related to my skin. Skin cancer runs in my family and I’ve had my own brush-ups with it in the past (you can see my essay “I Feel Bad for My Skin: A Sort of Skin Cancer Story”). Seeing surgery after surgery on your show helped me to see that I can handle whatever comes and recover well, just like your patients.

Thanks again for your great show. I shall go and watch more now.

With Love, Jackie

---

Thank you for reading. If you’d like to read more, sign up for my FUNletter or check out my book Grief is a Mess.