I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am fr…
“Benadryl barely helped me sleep last night,” I groan to my partner. My eyes bloodshot, my head pounding as I recount the number of days I have needed to take a sleep aid this week. He hands me my lunch bag and locks the door to walk with me to work. T…
There is no doubt about it: COVID-19 has turned the world upside down and inside out. Millions across the globe have become infected, and individuals of all ages are dying from this infection. Never before has the entire world dropped everything; the…
“I could hear the breathing from the door without my stethoscope. Do you know what it sounds like? It’s like the sound of broken glass rubbing against itself.” An ICU nurse sat across from me, the emotional baggage visible on her eyelids as she stood s…
We need to talk about sex. Yes, sex. And we need to do it now in the context of all this physical distancing. Recently, hook-up/dating apps all over (e.g., Grindr, Hinge, Tinder) have been using PSA banners and announcements that encourage people to st…
No question our best “selves” are given a chance to emerge during a crisis. The COVID-19 crisis offers the world a rare opportunity to behave collectively on behalf of humanity without having to “hate” the enemy. The virus is not to be hated as it has …
I moved to Florida in the middle of my junior year of high school, which was right in the middle of the basketball season. I had only practiced with the new team a handful of times before the first game. I distinctly remember sitting on the bench in my…
In March and April 2020, the United States federal government threw billions of dollars at new programs designed to keep the economy going strong for a few additional months. They have a litany of acronyms for these programs, including the PPP, SBA, an…
Three straws held in hand, each a different length, a decision to be made. It was September 1990. The hospital commander held them, so they appeared equal in length. The instructions were simple: The long one wins. The consequences, though, were not: s…
The euphoria of becoming a physician did not last long. My scrubs did not even lose the fresh scent, and I was already under attack by the administrators. Over the next few years, I was injured, morally hurt, not able to fight back, sad, and dishearten…
