I’ve been there. In my first two years of severe, chronic pain, I was right where you are at. I felt hopeless, mentally exhausted, and didn’t want to keep living with an extreme level of pain anymore. I felt there was no point if I couldn’t…
Category: Conditions
A daughter is dead. The mother is silent.
Mom wept silently as she stared at her dead daughter — quiet, near catatonic. I was prepared for a sharp scream. But she sat there quietly. She was staring at her beautiful but lifeless daughter. Young with long black hair and 21 years old. She was mom…
How to know which COVID test is right for you
I remember the time (about one year ago) when I could only provide one COVID test for patients walking into urgent care: the PCR or polymerase chain reaction. Back then, patients had no choice other than to get a nasal swab that was uncomfortable, irri…
3 lessons I’ve learned as a doctor during the pandemic
COVID-19 has changed nearly every aspect of society as we know it, and doctors in hospitals across America are at the forefront of those changes. As a pediatric infectious diseases doctor who also writes curriculum to help the next generation of doctor…
Fear of vaccines grows with the need for medical ethics
We recently received the news that a patient had died during the night from mysterious clots related to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine (OAZv). This tragic news came shortly after the U.K. revised its vaccination policy to restrict the use of the OAZv i…
A physician gives a dose of hope
During medical residency, one’s goal is two-fold: to provide compassionate and evidence-based care for patients and training and learning. But when a global pandemic emerges, we rise to serve, upholding our oath to care for the sick and our duty …
How one doctor’s medical fraud launched today’s deadly anti-vax movement
An excerpt from The Big Lie: How One Doctor’s Medical Fraud Launched Today’s Deadly Anti-Vax Movement. Inside the Royal Free Hospital in London, scores of reporters, physicians, and hangers-on packed the Atrium conference room, waiting for a press brie…
Missouri and Texas: a tale of 2 COVID cultures
The Major League Baseball season is in full swing, and nothing reflects the variable nature of our country’s response to COVID-19 better than how major cities are continuing to respect (or ignore) the virus and their baseball teams are handling fans. I…
Caring for the elderly: We can do better. We must do better.
Maggie sits in the rocker by the window, peering out at the street and its passersby. So much hustle and bustle; it seems no one has a moment to spare. Even the squirrels seem to be in a hurry, scurrying about on the sidewalk below. What’s the bi…
Think about your brain and spine before you start that new fad diet
Before you jump on the diet bandwagon with your brother-in-law (who’s crowing about shedding all that weight with so little effort), think about the potential downside. The problem with an ill-thought-out diet: Fad diets are designed to take off weigh…
