Introduction Sleep is not just a luxury; it is essential for maintaining health, and its role in fertility is particularly profound. From regulating reproductive hormones to protecting egg and sperm quality, sleep impacts every stage of the reproductiv…
The emergency room is my domain. As a paramedic and a PA, I have spent much of my life in and out of emergency rooms—maybe more time in ERs than at home over 40 years in this business. Yet, let me say I am not a fan of ERs for many reasons, mainly due …
I sat on a cylindrical stool, eyes bleary from the early hour. Navy scrubs freshly pressed, my nursing school patch tacked to my left shoulder. Would anyone notice I used hot glue and whipstitches? I remember the sound my clipboard made as I attached a…
The field of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is seeing a heated debate about the best way to diagnose this devastating condition. On one side, the Alzheimer Association (AA) proposed new criteria that rely solely on biological markers—such as proteins s…
We lost a very talented actor and director, Chadwick Boseman, way too early to colorectal cancer in 2023. When I recently became aware of his enormous talent, I resolved to examine his premature death as best I could with the hope of sparing others suc…
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs focus, attention, and behavioral control. ADHD hinders and compromises major life activities. Initially considered exclusively a disorder afflicting children …
At age 80, I am an old man. I am also an experienced writer and voracious reader. I’ve been active in internet bulletin boards and social media interest groups since the 1980s—in what we used to call “users net” (USENET)—before the em…
I didn’t know who Emmitt Smith was. I didn’t know September was Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. I didn’t know what was going on in the weekend football game my husband was watching next to me on the couch. I was typing a clinic note …
When a 26-year-old male with a history of tracheostomy arrived in our emergency department, the case appeared routine—until we uncovered an unusual detail. The patient’s sister had recently changed his tracheostomy tube at home but noticed someth…
In previous flu seasons, only about half of all Americans got the flu shot. Now we face pan-respiratory season, when we must worry about RSV, COVID, and the flu. The good news is these vaccines are lifesaving. The bad news is that if people don’t…
