Service: The Extra Mile
Behind the wheel of the 27-foot U-haul I’d rented, with my sedan following in-tow close behind, I arrived in Yakima, Washington.
After a stressful 10-hour drive – and with my pregnant wife and kids scheduled to arrive at a later date -- I was in charge of managing our accrued belongings and moving into our new place.
I had contacted fellow members of our church in the area that I had not met, and was greeted by their smiling faces when I pulled in around 9:30 on a Wednesday evening. Having possessions that I could not have moved alone made me all the more grateful that they cared to come help. After two hours of unloading, one of them even gave me a bag of toiletries and some frozen burritos as a parting gift.
Read More
Death Can Be Beautiful
We always joked that my dad would be early to his own funeral. If he wasn't 10 minutes early, he was late.
Let's back up. My dad, an 87-year-old retired minister, still drove his car up until a week before he passed. His wife (my mom) and he have been married 60 years. Mom has had Alzheimer's for ten years -- five of which she's been living in a memory care center. He has been faithfully visiting her, even though she can no longer communicate. She has a smile that brightens the day like a 3-month-old baby. They sit together and hold hands.
Read More
What Your Bathroom Experience is Telling You
Some health concerns, such as diet and exercise, seem to be constant sources for public conversation. Each person can obtain a great deal of information on what food they should eat and what types of exercises they should perform, and most people understand that if you have a six pack and eat plenty of veggies you could be considered a healthy individual.
Read More
Talk About Death - It Won't Kill You
A patient in his late 80s with chronic heart failure was presented to the Emergency Department. He had low blood pressure, trouble breathing, and chest pain, and it was decided that he would need intensive monitoring of his vital signs with frequent medication adjustments. He was destined for a room in the ICU.
For whatever reason, however, the admitting cardiologist failed to discuss a ‘code status’ with him before sending him to the ICU.
That small error had tragic consequences.
Read More
A Girl's Guide to Safer Sex
Newsflash, ladies: your body gives you a lot of power in sexual decision making.
But, as Spiderman’s Uncle Ben once said (that’s right, I’m quoting a fictional superhero's uncle…), “with great power comes great responsibility.”
Read More
We Are Not Gods
I had a God complex.
It was 2005, and I had just graduated US Army medic training. Looking back now, I suppose most people suffer from the same complex when they first become medical providers.
The fairytale storyline of the medical provider miraculously saving every patient they see is perpetuated by popular media and often not dispelled by our training. If you need any evidence, just flip on your television and tune into any number of shows showcasing miraculous medical interventions.
Read More
Everyone Poops...but me.
t’s Valentine’s Day. My boyfriend is cooking me dinner and scrumptious aromas fill my apartment. I longingly want to eat the delicious food currently filling my oven. However my achy, bloaty stomach is trying to convince me otherwise. It’s been almost a week since I’ve had a bowel movement and I have no desire to eat. Maybe if I take a laxative I’ll be able to clear my system and eat! Horrible idea.
Read More
Balance and Vision: Get 'Chu Some
Two words I have learned to cling to: balance and vision.
Did I always want to be a doctor?
No. Actually...
Hell no.
I wanted to be a thousand different things. Mostly an astronaut.
Read More
Nature or Nurture? Or Does Nature Nurture?
Modern day medical school involves an inordinate amount of time spent sitting inside staring at a screen. Quite separate from the volume and difficulty of the material I need to learn in my classes, this fact is what makes medical school mentally and emotionally challenging.
Last spring and summer -- up until the time orientation started -- I spent every day outside in nature. I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) for 4 months until I had to be in Yakima for school. The transition was shocking and extremely difficult.
Read More
My Best Friend is Hairier Than Yours
What has your pet done for you lately?
Offered you a slobbery kiss? Carried your shoes around the house as if it’s a game of hide and seek? Sat by your side constantly, pawing at you for a good petting?
If you own a pet, you have probably experienced at least one of these scenarios before. But have you ever stopped to consider how much a pet really does for you?
Read More
