Category: Patient

A nurse willing to forgive others. And to forgive herself.

I was 5 years old on a busy New York City street with my mom, dad, and two sisters. A large man in shabby clothes holding a garbage bag in his hand stood on the corner waiting for the light to change. My dad reached into his wallet and handed the stran…

Doctor, how are you, really?

My longtime psychiatrist died by suicide. It still doesn’t seem real. It’s nearly impossible to accept that someone who had the talent and resources to help so many others couldn’t avail himself of the help that he needed. It’s …

Doctor, how are you, really?

My longtime psychiatrist died by suicide. It still doesn’t seem real. It’s nearly impossible to accept that someone who had the talent and resources to help so many others couldn’t avail himself of the help that he needed. It’s …

Our doctors are feeling the emotional burden of the state of health care

Death is an inevitable part of the journey of life. We all have experienced its effects: the death of a family member, the death of a friend or those special individuals who we might have barely known but who left an indelible mark upon our consciousne…

A patient imagines a conversation with Alexa

When Hubby isn’t around to act as a sounding board, when I’m not feeling well, I talk to my dog.  She sometimes gets a fearful, tearful earful.  I think if I could channel her thoughts to Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, our conversation might go som…

How to be a merry widow

An excerpt from How To Be A Merry Widow – Life after Death for the Older Lady. You are like an animal cut off from the herd; people are social beings and need to be with others. The very word ‘”solitary” brings fear even to the most h…

A veteran tells an unexpected story

“You ever work with vets?” asks the young man sitting across from me in the hospital waiting room. He’s been sitting there all morning. So have I. Since 5:30 a.m., my father-in-law, 88, has been undergoing surgery to remove a tumor in…

Blame the pain, not the opioids

I’ve noticed a frightening trend in the latest research on patients taking prescribed opioids: whatever the negative outcomes, researchers attribute them to the opioid medications instead of the underlying pain. The many detrimental outcomes thes…

The value of personal narratives in addiction treatment and integrated care

I was standing behind my trolley in our local supermarket when, in my wallet, I came across that drawing of a human heart. In the miniature pen-and-ink composition, the heart is suspended between two birds’ wings. At the bottom is a dateline: Opioid Vi…

A wife who couldn’t fully accept her spouse’s health problems

My husband, who’s had type 2 diabetes for 20 years, had been struggling for a long while to lower his hemoglobin A1C — a number that measures how well he’s managing his blood sugar over time. When he and I finally investigated the issue, it…