I would definitely use it.
I would help whoever I could, especially children. It just breaks my heart to see them suffer.
Can I use it to heal myself?
What about mental illness?
What about obesity?
What about a missing leg or arm or organ?
Would healing clear out clogged arteries?
Would this healing power restore youthfulness?
My ex is HIV+, his boyfriend has AIDS, both are doing well on medication. If I cure them of HIV and restore their immune systems, would doctors be able to sample their blood and come up with a cure for others with HIV/AIDS?
I wouldn’t want to go public as I would almost be instantly overwhelmed. Besides I’m already aware of too many people in need. I live in a building full of people with mental illness and some have physical problems as well.
I would do this for free, but of course some money would be nice, especially if I can heal myself as I would be disqualified at my next SS review (about every 3 years). Also I want to get to LA to see my mother and help her.
stupid joke:
If I can heal myself I will be able to restore my penis to it’s previous working condition. Can I make it bigger?
(and no I don’t mean the usual hands on method):D:p
ETA: I was interrupted by a phone call, so I didn’t see the posters asking some of the same questions I just did.
Sure, subject to the nanites’ basic limitations.
You could fix problems caused by arrant brain chemistry, but not – well, let’s say cognitive disorders. And some of those brain chemistry problems are going to be difficult, time-consuming, and require a long recharge time afterwards.
I think magically melting away pounds is out of the nanites’ purview, but you could probably fix an underlying metabolic problem that made weight loss difficult.
No.
Yes, but it’s going to be another of those time-consuming things.
Nah.
If AIDS researchers were technomages, they’d have invented something already, wouldn’t they?
I think doing it for free is riskier than some of y’all are thinking. Or, rather, it has a hidden drawback.
I’d use it on my own spine, and on a friend’s daughter with spina bifida.
After that, I’d be a strictly for-profit entity, provided that nobody else I know got sick or injured.
I was just about to ask how difficult it would be to heal a spinal chord injury.
That depends. Is it major or minor? Augmented, diminished? Details matter.
I’d play Santa Claus at Christmas in July, an organization that my Dad and I always used to donate time to when I was a young ventriloquist. I don’t know if the organization still exists, but when I was a kid, it was a picnic for children who were unlikely to live till December.
If I could sit there in a red suit and fake beard, as terminally ill child after child sat on my lap, being able to grant their greatest wish, I wouldn’t give a shit if I died right after the last one left my lap. I’d die happy.
I’d probably start with friends and family; the time constraints allow for doing this kind of part-time, when I happen to see them, so I’d get their various (and multiple!) diseases and injuries taken care of. Naturally, I’d repair my own herniated disk (I miss being able to feel my right foot!). I’d find a way to meet him and heal Andrei Markov’s knee, because I feel bad for the guy.
Then, I don’t know. Going public might been being subjected to all kinds of testing and abuse at the hands of governments, and I’d be so hounded and stressed that this would be a very unpleasant “gift” to have. I’d feel terrible if I had some sort of triage system and had to make decisions and turn people away, especially near the end of the year… I couldn’t look someone in the eye and tell them “you were 5 minutes too late, my powers are gone now.”
I guess it’s selfish, but I think I’d just do things secretly. Visit hospitals and long-term care facilities and leave behind patients who are miraculously cured. In a world where this power could exist, I wouldn’t care if people attributed the healing to whatever gods they wished.
If I could make the financial arrangements, I might secretly attend fund-raisers where I know certain Dopers would be, and help them out if possible… 
I’d use it, but I’m not sure how. I would help my elderly grandmother with her pain, as often as she needs it. She also has some kidney issues I’d work with.
But I’d be afraid the talent would have folks hounding me for help. Of course I’d want to give, but I can’t help everyone, and would people believe that? Or that I can’t do it after the year is up?
I’d have to figure a way to help people as confidentially as possible.
Me, I’m not drawing that much attention to myself. I don’t want to be abducted and dissected to see where I get this power.
There are plenty of sick people and kids all around us. Walk through a Mall. Stroll through a park. A brush of a cheek. Five minutes holding hands and talking or praying with someone if that’s what they believe and want. A couple of hours of sitting with your arm around someone near death’s door, watching the day go by.
Easy peasy.
Well, I know someone with a genetic disease that I really want to cure, but the thought of wasting a month afterwards where I could be helping more people is too much. I’d hang around hospitals, curing people (mostly kids) as often as I could for most of the year. Then a week before the end I’d stop, let the nanites charge up and my final use of the power would be to cure my friend’s muscular dystrophy.
Which is why I’d be disguised as Santa. I’d hopefully be able to see each child, then I’m out of there.
As with most magical powers granted in Skald-hypos, I’d use this as a source of political power. I’m not quite sure how - the more lethal Skald-powers are more useful in this regard, but a few possibilities come to mind:
1.) Talking aging tyrants into peaceful retirement, offering my services as a carrot. The Shah ended up fleeing Iran for cancer treatment, after all; that tactic can work.
2.) Supporting rebel troops or political demonstrators trying to remove tyrants. Especially in developing states, the traditional ills associated with cramming lots of humans together without quality drinking water remain a real problem; fairly simple (and thus, presumably, low-recharge-time) cures could help keep a fighting force or protest in the field longer than the opposition. There could also be a powerful morale boost from this - a “God is on our side” sort of thing.
3.) All else fails, there’s the option mentioned upthead: Become a healer for the ultra-rich, and become wealthy myself. Then I could use my fortune to exert political influence the old-fashioned way.
Pass entirely. I wouldn’t be able to do enough to prevent myself from dying from the guilties, so I wouldn’t even start. Maybe cure a bunch of stray dogs and cats, but that’s about it.
Me first, although I have no significant issues so that shouldn’t take up more than an hour or so of rest. After that my family and then I would find several rich sick people.
If you write the contract so they only owe you when they get well they might go along with my covered from head to toe disguise and numbered swiss bank account. In between I’d spend my time volunteering to read to children in hospitals wearing many different disguises so if they connect my presence to their miraculous recoveries they can’t trace me.
Once I have enough to pay for my retirement to my tropical paradise I would stop with the wealthy people and finish off the year at various childrens hospitals.
Cure myself, diabetic, pseudogout, heart condition. Cure hubby - hasimoto’s, Cure my mom’s alzheimers. Pity Steve jobs croaked, I bet if I offered him a cure for his cancer I could have scored a significant amount of Apple stock and a few million bucks. I would have to check around for a seriously rich guy, or a couple to make some bucks, then I would head down to Georgia and mooch a couch at Quasi’s to take care of he and his lady, and if I have time left I would sneekily take care of my friend Tara, she is a DES baby and desperately wants a kid but is unable to carry to term.
First off, I’d make sure I’m in perfect shape, then heal family members. Then I’d find a way to convince a hospital that yes, it actually works, and get paid extremely well to make full use of the ability for the next year.
Once the year of well documented healing is up, I reckon I could get a pretty good book and movie deal out of it.
Find a very wealthy – preferably billionaire type – who is dying of some sort of cancer. Extract many millions of dollars from him or her in order to cure it. Also have something ironclad drawn up so that said billionaire can never reveal what I’ve done.
After that, I spend the rest of my year clandestinely healing people of minor things without them knowing I’ve done a thing. “Oh, you’re not feeling well? pat pat I’m sure you’ll feel right as rain soon!” Meanwhile, I can sink my new riches into research for diseases.
I think publicly offering healing would turn into an absolute disaster (if you saw the movie “Contagion,” imagine that but with a single cure in a single location). Not to mention putting my own life in extreme danger. I’d probably do more harm than good (to myself and others) that way.
Step 1 is to win James Randi’s million-dollar prize, both to make a name for myself and to make a cool million. Although the prize is set up to test supernatural powers, they have said that a sufficiently sophisticated technology would also win the prize.
Step 2 is to seek out sick billionaires.
Family first (son has a few issues, Dad has leukemia, FIL has heart problems)
Then I would do 1 week a month for the rich for cash / expenses / research donations, 2 weeks at the Veterans Hospital, and 1 week at a children’s hospital.