By Jackie

Belinda and Larry Wurn’s upcoming book Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain contains over 700 pages of educational text about numerous medical conditions including blocked fallopian tubes, chronic headaches, hormonal infertility, pelvic pain, and sexual dysfunction. The Wurns knew from the start they would need a medical illustrator to help visualize and explain the important role of adhesions in these conditions. But they were struck with one question: How could they find an illustrator with multi-faceted talent to create images in multiple mediums, medical expertise in multiple areas of the body, a genuine spirit of teamwork, and sensitivity to draw the female reproductive system in an accurate, yet feminine way?

Image of laparoscopic surgery created by Joanna Culley

Thankfully, the Wurns found medical illustrator Joanna Culley. Joanna, an honors graduate of Middlesex University in London, already had extensive experience with male and female anatomy. With a degree in Scientific and Medical illustration, Joanna’s portfolio of work showcased the delicate nature, attention to detail, and medical accuracy that the Wurns were seeking.

Joanna became an addition to the Clear Passage Team in April of 2008. Because the Wurns’ treatment is completely unique and relies on adhesions that are largely overlooked by physicians, there are very few medical photographs, images, or texts to reference. Joanna had to take the conceptual and written explanations provided by the Wurns and translate them into beautiful and enlightening images. Joanna used her numerous skills to capture the difficult images the Wurns requested. Joanna explains, “Creating interesting and clear drawings in just black and white was very difficult, which is why eventually I used a mixture of traditional ink and digital work.”

As the editor of the book, I was intimately familiar with the text of the book. It was incredible to see Joanna bring the words to life through her images. I was also a part of the image review and revisions process. As we edited the text and cut, moved, and added entire paragraphs and chapters, our need and specification for images would change. Many times, we had to ask Joanna to change or adapt an image based on our new needs. Every time, she promptly and beautifully made the changes we requested. We believe her stunning work is directly tied to her evident passion for medical anatomy. She told us, “I love the subject of anatomy, I have regular anatomy lessons and although it is a lifetime of learning, the subject never ceases the amaze me.”

Thanks to Joanna’s diligent work, passion, and talents, the book now contains over 100 didactic images. The Wurns, Clear Passage Team, and I are indebted to Joanna for her wonderful work that truly brings Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain to a whole new level. New images and some variations of images in the book will be showcased on the female infertility, sexual dysfunction, and chronic pain pages of our website in upcoming months.

Joanna remains committed to enhancing her skills and will become a Registered Medical Illustration Practitioner after completion of her post graduate degree in April of 2009. Joanna also recently won the Ronal Raven Bequest Award, which allows her to travel from the UK to the US to study one-on-one with a medical legal artist. To see more of Joanna’s work, please visit her website at www.medical-artist.com.