Our memories are tricky. Whether we inflate experiences in recollection or allow their wonder to slip back among the ordinary depends on our perspectives at the time between present and past. The trouble is that we are no good at knowing in which direc…
“You will be asleep for your surgery,” anesthesiologists often reassure their patients. Just before the start of anesthesia, a patient may hear the nurse saying, “Think of a nice dream as you go off to sleep.” While these statements are intended to soo…
Vaccinations have long been a routine part of practice in late summer and early fall for pediatricians and family physicians. Back to school brings enrollment vaccination requirements and sports physicals, as well as the opportunity to bring young pati…
When Linda said she wanted to weigh 150 pounds, her doctors balked. In the fall of 2020, Linda weighed over twice that number. Her obesity was causing her debilitating knee pain, leading her to miss work as a mammography technician, a job she loved. Wa…
Maybe we can take a deep breath — and breathe out slowly. Perhaps we can check our pulse. Go on that vacation far away or visit a beach and watch the crashing waves. Listen to the seagulls, the breeze, the blue skies. And turn our cell phones off. But …
Due to emerging science about transmission in vaccinated people, the CDC now recommends all teachers and students wear masks in school, and that people living in COVID-19 hotspots, or areas of the country with large outbreaks, wear masks indoors, CDC o…
A year ago, I started writing. I wrote to process what I had seen and done and to prepare for what I knew was to come. It was inevitable. Humans would return to their normal activities, and despite mine and so many others’ advice, would do so …
A public health expert and a web developer have created a new digital communication tool to get more COVID-19 shots into arms — a vaccine emoji. Social media users have been using the syringe, microbe, or mask emoji in their posts to talk about t…
Our country is seventeen months into a pandemic that we have an effective vaccine for, and yet, COVID-19 cases are still rising at an alarming rate. Currently, this dramatic acceleration in cases is evident in several states. Furthermore, these areas …
He was in his ICU bed without movement or brain stem involvement. His weight was down to 90 pounds. His six-foot frame and skeletal body made me gasp. After countless sessions with the patient’s daughter to make her 92-year-old dad “comfort…
