2024 Archives - Page 2 of 10

The Love of Her Labor

Neeta Nayak December 4, 2024 6 Comments

An arranged marriage followed by childbirth within the next year was the lot of many Indian women for centuries.

Moving to the USA provided some reproductive freedom. With little support from extended family in a foreign land, I wanted to complete fellowship before having children, but the dreaded biological clock was ticking louder. I remember feeling conflicted: wanting to wait, but acutely aware of aging eggs. We decided there would never be a perfect time.

The Placenta Freezer

Joan Greland-Goldstein December 3, 2024 3 Comments

Soon after I started my orientation as a labor and delivery nurse, an obstetrician called to say he was sending in a patient whose labor needed to be induced since he was no longer able to hear the fetus’s heartbeat. An ultrasound had showed the baby to be anencephalic, so it was expected to be a stillbirth.

When the mother arrived, we didn’t do the usual check of the fetal heart rate—just started the intravenous line and the drug to stimulate contractions.

The Light of Rebirth

Ronna L. Edelstein December 2, 2024 1 Comment

December has always been a month of birth for me: fifty-one years ago, on December 11, I gave birth to my first child—my wonderful son. I try not to let the complications following his arrival (the doctor’s failure to deliver the afterbirth, massive hemorrhaging, a D and C, and loss of my breast milk) taint this miraculous event. My husband and I had transformed from being a couple into becoming a family—and I had so many dreams for that six-pound, eleven-ounce bundle of joy. When my daughter was born two years later in November, life felt complete to me.

December More Voices: Birth

Paul Gross December 1, 2024 3 Comments

Dear readers,

My wife’s labor with our first child did not go as planned. We took childbirth classes, and like every other couple, we hoped for a birth experience worthy of a Hallmark card: manageable pain, minimal drugs and a supportive partner–in this case me, a family-medicine resident, whose comforting presence and able coaching would smooth over any rough patches.

Fast forward a few weeks: It’s D-Day. Diane is exhausted, having endured forty-eight hours of labor, the last twenty hours of which have been unbearably painful.

Insomnia Coach

Colleen T. Fogarty November 23, 2024 No Comments

My mother, in her seventies, was struggling with insomnia, due to a combination of stress and medical problems. As a physician daughter, I’ve avoided giving my family specific medical advice, especially unsolicited.

Yet I know cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most effective treatment for insomnia. Years ago, a conference speaker emphasized the primacy of CBT for sleep issues and recommended a free app developed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Chemo Journeys

Jill Muhrer November 17, 2024 2 Comments

DRIVEN

My wife closes her eyes as I pull out of our driveway. She usually navigates, but not today. Pale as a ghost, she dozes off.

Even with GPS, I feel lost.

Finally, we arrive at our destination. I position the car carefully so she can get out without falling. As I watch her gathering up her things, I remind her that she’s brought too much—there’s no way she’ll use it all.

Rapid Mobilization

Pamela Adelstein November 14, 2024 4 Comments

Since November 6, 2024, nothing has been routine for health care providers like me who proudly provide gender-affirming health care to trans and gender-diverse people. Now, every medical visit is marked with a pregnant pause after I enter the exam room, say hello, and ask how the patient is today . . . after which each patient expresses their profound fears and anxieties about whether they will be able to continue to get the care they need to be healthy and safe. My clinical sessions are packed with patients, and discussions such as these need time and attention, so now I run more behind than ever.

Finding My Ikigai

Saleena Gul Arif November 12, 2024 No Comments

As I read the book Ikigai and explored the Japanese concept of that name—essentially, finding life’s purpose—I was drawn to the serene depictions of rural Japanese life, where people find meaning in simple routines—tending gardens and engaging in community rituals that foster longevity and happiness. The stories are beautiful, and it’s heartening to know that places exist where life is peaceful and its purpose clear. Yet I approached this book during a period of existential reflection, seeking guidance on finding purpose amidst the complexity of modern life. In this context, the concept of ikigai offered inspiration but lacked practical answers.

Housebound

Pris Campbell November 4, 2024 2 Comments

I’ve always enjoyed being around people, both at work and with friends. I also liked daily biking and sailing off and on. Then, in 1990, a neuroimmune illness hit me out of the blue. Since that time, the disease has kept me almost completely housebound and able to tolerate only brief personal contacts.

Grief Without Closure

Ronna L. Edelstein November 1, 2024 6 Comments

I just returned from the cemetery. It was 10 years ago today—November 1—that my beloved father died in my arms. The sun has daily risen and set during this past decade; I have gone about my business of reading, attending theatrical productions, napping, and meeting with friends. My children and I have gotten closer. But there is a hole in my soul from which I will never recover. Until I take my last breath, I will miss, mourn, celebrate, and love my father.

November More Voices: Recovering

Paul Gross November 1, 2024 No Comments

Dear readers,

I’m still recovering from my diagnosis of type 1 diabetes forty years ago. The recovery involves daily injections of insulin, a continuous glucose monitor affixed to my upper arm and a hovering awareness of where my blood sugar is at any moment and which way it’s headed.

Recovering isn’t just about getting over an operation or a brief illness, although life does offer us some quick recoveries: At age five I got over my tonsillectomy in a week or two; and, luckily for me, my bout of COVID last winter left no lasting effects.

One Step at a Time

Esther Joseph Pottoore October 16, 2024 2 Comments

It’s hard to be overlooked, especially if you’re quiet and shy by nature. So I developed a mask. A speak-up, in-your-face, gutsy personality—an alternate face! But inside I’m still shy and non-confrontational.

Food became my comfort. Was I stressed at work? I’d eat. Was I angry with my husband? I’d eat. Was a party too noisy? I’d eat in a corner. I ballooned, but I didn’t feel better. I preferred staying home, snacking, and watching NetFlix to going out.

fostering the humanistic practice of medicine publishing personal accounts of illness and healing encouraging health care advocacy

fostering the humanistic practice of medicine publishing personal accounts of illness and healing encouraging health care advocacy

2024

The Love of Her Labor

The Placenta Freezer

The Light of Rebirth

December More Voices: Birth

Insomnia Coach

Chemo Journeys

Rapid Mobilization

Finding My Ikigai

Housebound

Grief Without Closure

November More Voices: Recovering

One Step at a Time

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fostering the humanistic practice of medicine publishing personal accounts of illness and healing encouraging health care advocacy

fostering the humanistic practice of medicine publishing personal accounts of illness and healing encouraging health care advocacy

2024

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