Alex and Edward Santos have just returned from a weekend away at their aunt and uncle’s place. They love it there. The couple is in their 20s and spoil the boys with late bedtimes, movies and video games, and home-made cupcakes with chocolate icing and…
Patients should have as much access to information as possible. The more they know — the more informed decisions about their health and life that can be made. However, faulty headlines about new therapies are infiltrating news outlets left and right. M…
He struggled to breathe, progressing from deep breaths with wet sounds reverberating in his lungs, to guppy breathing — opening the mouth like a fish, contorting the entire face. His heart rate slowly decreased, from 150 beats a minute — a pace attempt…
I pause for a moment and close my eyes — to center myself in this country, where I am today. I am about to walk through the door and tell the parents what my assessment has shown. I nod to the interpreter waiting behind me and knock firmly befo…
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement, resulting most notably in tremor, slow movement, stiffness and balance issues. While Parkinson’s patients benefit from medicine that can alleviate some of these…
“Guys, are you alright in there?” I ask casually while taking the first bite of my dinner on a 24-hour PICU shift. No answer. “What is going on? Why is she beeping so much? Is her tube blocked?” My voice gets louder. Complete human silence. Except for …
“Guys, are you alright in there?” I ask casually while taking the first bite of my dinner on a 24-hour PICU shift. No answer. “What is going on? Why is she beeping so much? Is her tube blocked?” My voice gets louder. Complete human silence. Except for …
When your grandmother suffers a devastating stroke, it is a family tragedy, but it does not necessarily make the headlines. When Luke Perry has a massive stroke at age 52, it does. Stroke remains a surprisingly common occurrence, striking someone in th…
ing my ER shift for the day, I waited for the shuttle at a busy intersection. Within a minute of drowning myself in music, I saw an obese man at the bus stop suddenly collapse to the ground. I removed my backpack and ran the fastest I have ever run in …
I have had a complex relationship with music. As a child, I had several instances of feedback that I was “bad at music.” When my class would sing at assemblies, I would get side glances and subtle and not so subtle clues that I should be at the edges a…
