Author's posts
Discovering healing through storytelling
Many arise each day with a scenario of expectations to be achieved. For those individuals of working age, some of these expectations revolve around our jobs, put into place by our employers over which we have little to no control. But what about those …
Inside the world of family medicine: a patient’s eye-opening account
Today’s health care system is in a state of drastic flux. Gone are the days of private practice family doctors, the “Marcus Welby, MDs,” who stood ever-ready to heal the sick and comfort the disillusioned. They were the sole decision-…
A patient’s perspective on the diminishing relationship between doctors and patients
Pages of my life turn over as the breezes of time flow over me. Remembrances of your presence as the world welcomed my firstborn so many years ago. Your calming voice and words of wisdom reminded me that life would be different but oh so much better. M…
How I overcame a heart attack and health challenges with the help of faith, family, and skilled doctors
I stood outside in my yard, which had been dormant during the winter season and was now awakening to the spring. Yard work was a familiar and enjoyable activity for me, one that I had been doing for years. But as I walked across the yard, I found mysel…
Transparency and honesty: the keys to fixing America’s broken health care system
When I was growing up, I remember my father saying the phrase, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” In today’s world, I find myself often recalling those words. Most of life these days should not be taken at fac…
The endless waves of chronic illness
Life keeps buffeting the patient diagnosed with several chronic conditions, like continuous incoming and outgoing mammoth ocean waves flooding over one’s body, raising you high up into the air and then sucking you downward, a struggle to keep you…
Voices unheard: the plight of patients and clinicians in the health care system
“The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.” – William Osler I hear a voice in the still of the night when all the sounds of the …
A mundane ultrasound? The emotional weight of diagnostic tests.
The word mundane is defined as an occurrence that is very ordinary and, therefore, not interesting. However, what may be mundane for one may be monumental for another, especially if one’s health is in question. An ultrasound provides needed infor…
Lean on me: the power of human connection and the support of a caring doctor
Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, and we all have sorrow. But if we are wise, we know that there’s always a tomorrow. Lean on me when you’re not strong, and I’ll be your friend; I’ll help you carry on, for it won’t…
Why have we let our diseased health care system go untreated?
“To serve the art of medicine as it should be served, one must love his fellow man.” – William Osler There is sadness in my heart and my mind. With so many advances in the treatment of illnesses of the mind and body, why have we let o…
