“How much will this cost me?” This is the last thing that a patient with COVID-19 should have to think about, but this is a major concern for the at least 27 million Americans facing the pandemic without health insurance. These individuals include cons…
Mindfulness can help you not make the stress of COVID-19 worse. I’ll start with the easiest way to practice mindfulness; you need not even be meditating. Stop whatever you’re doing and shift your attention to the physical sensation of three or four bre…
With the coronavirus pandemic, many cities across the country have shut down. While some people are working from home, many others have been furloughed or lost their jobs altogether. With this rapid decrease in economic activity, the stock market has t…
I am hiding out in our lovely spacious house in the woods with my husband, hoping that COVID-19 will not find us. Both of us are in the “at-risk” category as we are both in our 70s. We are both New Yorkers, but we are upstate because our 50-year-old d…
If you are ever lucky enough to find yourself jam-packed like a sardine to the point of being unable to take in a deep breath on a train in Tokyo during peak rush-hour traffic, a truly fascinating sight to behold awaits you. Inside, not only would you …
“They stole my shoes!” she told me with tears streaming down her face. It was 30 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and the woman in front of me at the food pantry only had the clothes on her back, walking around town barefoot. In addition to taking her shoes…
As caregivers, our #1 role is protection — protecting our children, our elderly parents, our patients, even our staff and colleagues. Notice how I didn’t mention protecting ourselves? This is off-radar for most caregivers until they have no choic…
As a cardiology fellow in a busy New York City hospital, my life has snowballed into chaos. Just last week, I was a pregnant doctor completing her second trimester, waddling down the halls of the hospital with an echocardiogram machine in tow, taking c…
COVID-19 has brought out the best in people, and also the worst. Daily on social media or in the news, I read heartwarming examples of generosity and kindness that challenge me to be a better person. The doctors, nurses, therapists, and chaplains who a…
Many of the patients whom I met during my oncology rotation felt hopeful for a cure. They imagined how once their cancer went into remission, they could go back to their normal lives as they once were. I was struck then when one patient, a 72-year-old …
