There are days I hate being a doctor. OK, let’s be honest—there have been weeks, and with the current pandemic, the whole past year has been an entire theme park of emotional rollercoasters. I think a better description would be to say that there are c…
It pains me to write this. I am tired of pretending. I simply cannot do this anymore. I sincerely wish you well. I do hope our paths will cross again. I first gazed at you, cautiously intrigued. Coquettish even. Butterflies fluttered when I thoug…
It’s been a rough and difficult year for us. Separation, desperation, depression, illness, and death are scattered among the months that have passed by. Hope, for the longest time, seemed non-existent. The COVID virus gave the world a “suc…
This week a patient, for whom I served as the primary care physician for over many years, died after an extended illness. I had the privilege of visiting her two days before her death, as she weakened and drew closer to her last breath. It was an oppo…
“As a young girl, I’d stand on my tiptoes, craning my neck to watch her sweep cerulean eye shadow across lids and smear foundation on sunken cheeks. While my high school friends resorted to secondhand eye shadow instruction from the pages of Teen…
“I just started laughing. It was early on Monday morning during our COVID surge. I couldn’t help myself. Phones were not on yet, but I already had triage COVID calls. “Put on your roller skates” was all I was thinking. I questioned my laughter. …
He stood silently. His eyes fixed on us, immaculately dressed in a dark three-piece suit adorned with a gold watch and chain, hair meticulously groomed, a brightly colored bow tie centered perfectly on a freshly starched white shirt, wire collar stays …
Primary care physicians already have a lot of competition from retail clinics, urgent care clinics and telehealth services that cater to consumers. Now they’re facing a new threat from the “virtual primary care plans” that insurance c…
An excerpt from Recovery from Lyme Disease: The Integrative Medicine Guide to Diagnosing and Treating Tick-Borne Illness. As I write this, I am sitting in a hospital room with my wife. She had the sudden onset of severe chest pain and neurological symp…
My whole life has been leaping from one goal to the next. As far back as I can remember, I always had goals. Later in life, after practicing for a while, academic and career goals shifted to financial goals. But goals nonetheless. I never gave mysel…
