Once upon a time, I’d imagined myself the Lone Ranger physician, self-sufficient and incapable of weakness, and when I had my spinal cord injury in 2008, I really felt alone, in the negative spiral of a victim mindset, my own worst enemy and in a…
Category: Conditions
Secret support for this family caregiver
Last month, while spring cleaning my home-based office, I faced off with a bookshelf full of past writing journals. Get rid of them (I coaxed myself). Whatever you wrote here is history now. My inner packrat resisted. Couldn’t I just box them up …
Breaking the stigma with science
Oxford Dictionary defines stigma as “a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person.” In other words, it’s a state of being in shame. One of the most influential thought leaders in shame is Brene Brow…
Autoimmune disease? You’re more likely to get heart disease. Here’s why.
The prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke is increased in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). These are also known as IMID: immune-mediated inflammatory d…
Overcoming disparity in access to uterine artery embolization
Uterine fibroids are a common condition that affects up to 7 in 10 women. While some fibroid patients live with the condition without serious issues, many suffer from disruptive symptoms, such as heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain, and infertility, …
Eating our way to the next pandemic
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported the first case of H5N1 avian influenza in a human who contracted the virus not from a bird but from an infected dairy cow. The next pandemic could be around the corner, and the food we choose to pu…
Long COVID and your brain: the effect of virus and vaccines
A bunch of symptoms, which may persist many months or even years after an acute COVID infection has cleared, have been described in the medical literature with increasing frequency since the onset of the pandemic. This constellation of findings has bee…
The dichotomy of patient health literacy
“You sure know a lot about your condition.” Many patients with long-term illnesses have heard this. When it comes from a medical professional, it’s never a compliment. It’s a statement that is usually, at best, laced with disapp…
Growing up with diabetes
An excerpt from Sugar Free. “What do you want to do?” Ginny said. “Chinese jump rope.” “Tilly, you always want to play Chinese jump rope,” Renée said. “So?” Tilly said. Renée didn’t have an answer t…
Health care in turmoil: costs, shortages, and pandemic strains
Health care in the United States is in a state of turmoil. Many Americans are struggling to pay for health care. Even if they have health insurance, many have to pay high out-of-pocket copayments and, in the end, feel that what they do pay for is not w…
