In 2017, I read an article called “I Don’t Know How to Explain to You that You Should Care About Other People.” I don’t remember the details of the article; the name was enough. As we enter our third year of a global pandemic, I think about that often….
With apologies to the late Yankees slugger Yogi Berra, for pandemic-weary Americans, it’s like “déjà vu all over again,” as new lockdowns and mandatory mask mandates are being imposed across the globe. The latest threat, the Omicron C…
You’d think by now – at the “experienced” age of 40, a practicing OB/GYN almost two years into a pandemic – that I’d know better than to trust broad proclamations from professional organizations and instead resign myself to the …
“Six air changes per hour and HEPA grade filtration of indoor air for our children is an investment in their futures for long beyond when the COVID-19 pandemic fades from view. We know there is poor indoor air quality in multiple schools, from in…
Frankly, I am tired of this pandemic. I am tired of the death. I am tired of the destruction of families and the obliteration of vulnerable individuals’ social supports. I am tired of human issues being politicized and used as weapons to divide u…
This year, I lost too many close and extended family members to COVID-19. As a medical student, I was stunned to see a virus take a grasping toll on my life and surroundings. It was frightening, to say the least. Throughout the period of grief, which I…
Massachusetts is again experiencing a COVID-19 surge and our hospitals are overwhelmed, mostly with unvaccinated patients. As a practicing physician who takes care of many high-risk diabetic patients, I ask all my patients about their COVID-19 vaccinat…
“The medical profession hasn’t changed. Our credibility hasn’t changed. Our commitment to care for you – to adore you, to grieve your diagnosis and what it means for you and your family – hasn’t changed. Our advice hasn’t changed. I’m grateful fo…
It began with a seemingly innocuous text from a friend of the family. “Hi, Richard. I hope you’re well. I need to speak with you. Can I call you?” The last time we spoke was at my brother’s long-postponed “celebration of l…
You used to come to us struggling to breathe and begging for our help, and while we stood over you preparing for intubation, we would feel all the feels while looking into eyes that we knew might never open again. We would break down and cry while tell…
