‘This victory ensures that advance planning documents are legally enforceable and will be respected by doctors; if they are not, individuals can hold providers accountable for violating their health care decisions.” – Greenberg decisi…
Category: Conditions
The vampire, phlebotomy, and advocating for my care
Every five weeks, I see a different vampire from the phlebotomy and give this collective of blood-suckers consent to take my blood. The crimson-filled, turquoise-capped vacutainer is destined for analysis to see how fast my blood coagulates. If the vam…
The stigma of cognitive decline: Silence has a price
Have you ever experienced brain fog? It’s one thing to reach for an extra coffee or reflect on the vagaries of age, but growing research shows that subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a powerfully predictive indicator that many patients either …
The Christmas miracle and the music box
She was 82 years old — sweet, frail, and maybe four feet eight inches tall. She had many beloved children, grandchildren, and even a few great-grandchildren They all grew up knowing that family was their core — their base, their home where love resided…
Stephen “tWitch” Boss’ tragic death highlights the importance of mental health
A prominent celebrity named Stephen “tWitch” Boss of the Ellen DeGeneres Show took his life at 40. Boss’ contagious love of dancing, carefree spirit, and milewide grin brought joy to millions. From the outside looking in, we saw a gen…
Overcoming the epidemic of loneliness
As I drove home from work and turned right onto the familiar street that would eventually wind around like a smile to my home, I briefly closed my eyes and tilted my face to the sky, enjoying the butterscotch sunlight still peeking through the leaves f…
A blessing for health care workers
As winter approaches and life slows down, it’s a time to pause and reflect on all everyone has had to endure these past few years. To those involved in health care, it has been an especially difficult time… a test of both resolution and inn…
Lessons from employer-mandated COVID leave
I saw two positive lines on the home test kit. My body felt like I had been beaten with a jackhammer and the buzzing in my head reminded me of a hangover, the likes of which I had not seen for at least 20 years. Somehow, I organized my thoughts enough …
A job behind bars
At least two million people in the United States are incarcerated in 122 United States prisons. Little is known about the prisoners themselves. Did their background condemn them to bad behavior? Or did they just make grievous mistakes? Do they suffer f…
U.S. adults should get routine anxiety screening. But then what?
For the first time, primary care physicians (PCPs) are being urged to screen their patients, above and below age 65, for mental health concerns alongside screening for physical health conditions. The United States Preventive Services Task Force has pub…
