During my first two years of medical school, the service-learning program I most enjoyed was Sickle Cell Superheroes. This program matches medical students with teenagers (or “kiddos,” as I like to call them) who are transitioning from pediatric to adult hematology for management of their sickle-cell disease.
My kiddo was Harry, and I absolutely adored him.
As a family doctor, I see acts of bravery every day. Not big, showy, public acts, but individual, ordinary acts. Acts by people who, in the face of adversity, choose to live and to believe in a future.
Portraits of Persistence and Hope Read More »
“You are the only exception . . .”
Every time I hear these lyrics by the rock band Paramore, I think of Xan, a patient I met a few years back while working as residential advisor at a mental health rehabilitation facility. There, we served patients diagnosed with treatment-resistant mental illness—people who had tried every pill and every therapy and had still been hospitalized again and again. Our program was a sort of last-ditch effort to get people back on their meds, back in their community, back to living lives that they found meaningful.
The Only Exception Read More »
The patient dug her fingers into my palms, her grip so tight, yet slippery from the sweat. Tears streamed down her face. I could see her pain, from a place I couldn’t fathom.
She’d come to us in the second trimester of her pregnancy. When we examined her, there was no sign of life inside her womb. The fetus had not passed spontaneously, so we performed a procedure called Dilation and Evacuation, or D&E.
Humans Taking Care of Humans Read More »
The plants that curve into the bay window in the parlor
Drop their leaves to the scuffed wooden floor of this old house
When they no longer hold life.
There they dry and crumble
Scattering dust and debris across the soft pine,
Clinging to my socks
As I stretch to open the shade
And let in the morning sun.
Sweeping the Floor Read More »
The unspoken question looms. I might ask first, dropping a bomb that disrupts the medical visit. Or the patient asks at the appointment’s conclusion, when I query, “Anything else today?” Patient concerns brought up when their visit has ostensibly ended are dubbed “doorknob questions.” Previously, these were predictably about Viagra or vaginas. Since the November 2024 election results, my patients voice their terror that access to gender-affirming medical care will cease to exist.
The Heartbreaking Question Read More »
It’s been an interesting year. Eight months after having a large kidney stone removed, I was diagnosed with very early stage cancer—small, low grade, etc. The treatment (surgery) would very likely cure the cancer. The specter of cancer meant that I found this surgery physically easier, but emotionally much harder.
The aftermath of the surgery was interesting in unexpected ways, too.
Six months after surgery, at one of my periodic follow-up visits, I was sitting awkwardly at the end of the exam table, dressed in the standard patient gown and sheet, and waiting to see Becky, the nurse practitioner I’d been assigned to that day.
“I Know You Don’t Want to Be Here…” Read More »
At the independent-living facility, we take pleasure in our meals. And, the ingenuity of those who prepare them!
At this morning’s breakfast, for example, it was yesterday’s ham chopped and hidden in buttered egg whites. Those of us who remembered the menu smiled and ate, pleased with Amanda’s maneuvering leftovers. But tonight, it’s watermelon strawberry soup, something we’ve never had before. Served cold in little bowls.
Adventures in Fun Dining Read More »
It often begins subtly, almost sweetly. The extra attention feels like a warm embrace that draws you in, making you feel cherished and unique. You revel in the connection, in the moments where the world fades away, and it’s just you two. Their genuine interest in your thoughts and dreams ignites a sense of belonging.
But then, in an unexpected flash, the first inappropriate touch shatters that comforting illusion, leaving you frozen in confusion. The initial hope lingers, whispering that perhaps it was just a momentary lapse. You cling to the belief that you can still retain that special bond and navigate this new terrain unscathed.
From Darkness To Light Read More »
© 2024 Pulse - Voices from the Heart of Medicine, Inc. All rights reserved.
