Category: Infectious disease

Carry on, my weary one: Persevering in the aftermath

Back in January of this year, I was rotating through the thoracic surgery service while COVID-19 surged like a tsunami through our nation. The restricted unit of COVID patients hid behind closed double doors, posters plastered on the walls outside with…

Telemedicine in Nepal during COVID-19 [PODCAST]

“Currently working in a COVID ICU in a tertiary center in Kathmandu, I have experienced how difficult it is for the health system to manage the patient load. A month ago, ICU beds were fully occupied, ventilator alarms would set off time and agai…

The fifth column brings a fifth wave  

U.S. COVID deaths have surpassed U.S. war deaths from World War II, Vietnam, and Korea. The unvaccinated are a fifth column that has ushered in a wave of nasty COVID variant infections in the United States, with their attendant deaths, costs, and disru…

Putting my kid back in school: the right decision for this pediatrician

As a parent who also happens to be a hospital-based pediatrician, lots of people have asked me my opinion on back to school and/or daycare. I am sharing my thoughts. I’m only one person. These are just my thoughts. Feel free to take what is helpf…

Putting my kid back in school: the right decision for this pediatrician

As a parent who also happens to be a hospital-based pediatrician, lots of people have asked me my opinion on back to school and/or daycare. I am sharing my thoughts. I’m only one person. These are just my thoughts. Feel free to take what is helpf…

The danger persists. The contagion has won.

A subtle vibration permeates the still air, a thumping that melds with our heartbeat. The drumbeat becomes constant, louder, deafening, echoing the chaos around us. The sounds initially emanate from a far-off land. There is news of a contagion. There a…

Who needs scientists? It’s not like we listen to them anyway.

But seriously, who needs scientists? It’s not like we listen to researchers or pay attention to the warnings. The world is burning up with record ground-breaking temperatures. These so-called scientists predicted these warnings decades ago, with great …

We are all out of ideas for how to convince you to get vaccinated

We in Southern Oregon saw how the pandemic raged in other areas of the country. We were waiting. It would hit here, eventually, we knew it. It came to our city slowly, and then we had a spike. Still, it was much milder than many other places, and we we…

Surviving the first 100 yards: How do you do it? Why do you do it?

You are 19 years old, standing in the mud and mire that are the trenches of World War I. You are cold, hungry, filthy, emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted. You stare straight ahead, eyes vacant, not revealing deep inside you a visceral fear…

The Delta variant Is a monster and our last weapon is the unvaccinated

Oh, how the tide has turned. Three months ago, COVID was ravaging my homeland, India. The Delta variant was burning through the country like an uncontrolled wildfire. People carted dying relatives town to town, desperately seeking hospital beds or a wh…