I recently went to a visitation at a funeral home for my friend’s daughter. She was 24.
She had had developmental delays and multiple medical issues, but this was not expected and the cause is not known.
My friend is a doctor. A really good one. One with fiercely loyal patients because she is a fierce advocate for them. She is one of those doctors with phenomenal interpersonal insight on top of …
Not knowing why takes away our power to prevent
I use my computer a lot, so I see a lot of advertisements. Many of them are for the latest two or three items I’ve priced online (which I find somewhat creepy but fairly easy to ignore). Many of them are generic, casting a wide net. These generic ads frequently talk about “one ridiculously easy trick” to halve your car insurance payments, lose 50 pounds, learn a foreign language, look …
Doctors need to do a better job in the PR department
Recently, I received a phone call in the late afternoon from someone very close to me. Please note that this someone is also a doctor. “Uh, I need you for a minute. I’m kind of freaking out. Can I talk to you?”
She had just gone to her local optometrist to get a new prescription for glasses. The optometrist looked in her eyes, told her that both of her optic nerves …
Communicating urgently without scaring patients
Sometimes it’s difficult to practice what I preach. But I try.
A couple of weeks ago, I spent the evening in the emergency room with our youngest son (don’t worry – he’s fine). I hate going to the ER, but every once in a while circumstances necessitate it. I called doctor friends in the relevant specialty, as well as our son’s pediatrician, to confirm the need for the trip. They said to …
Handling the delicate balance as an ER patient
Once a Red Sox fan, always a Red Sox fan. But when you live your adult life in metro Detroit, you grow to love the Tigers. Watching the American League Championship Series caused some dissonant feelings: I was thrilled that the Red Sox won, but also a little sad that the Tigers lost. That’s baseball. Someone wins, someone loses.
Sadly, our national discussion …
Let the health care battle be an all-star game
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