As Americans, we live in one of the most affluent countries in the world. Outwardly, many of our citizens seem to possess the necessities of life: shelter, food, job employment, and world-class health care. But what happens when we take a closer look? Do we see cracks in the foundation?
If we are honest, the answer is a resounding yes. When one looks at the area of health care, there is …
Is our health care system based on untruths?
“Where does it hurt?”
As a child, I can remember this ubiquitous question being frequently asked of me. Having grown up on a farm, there was always some trouble for me to get into. A common hazard was my older sister’s 26-inch bicycle, which had no training wheels.
At age 5, if I was to be a “big kid,” I had to master the art of riding the “big” bike on our …
As we get older and the world changes, it’s not always an easy task to say “where”
The passage through life is, at times, exciting, stressful, and confusing. Like being on a roller coaster ride: strapped in, climbing up to the high peaks, and surging down to the valleys. It’s a ride where I hang on for dear life with the hope I can endure the trip until it ends. Don’t get me wrong, I do utter intermittent screams of joy here and there, but I’m happy …
We are warriors: doctors and patients
I awake each day, looking for the sunlight to brighten my life, just as you may do.
I wonder who I will meet today who might have an impact on my life, just as it may be for you.
I organize in my mind my “to do” list for the day … all the things that I will try to accomplish, promising my best effort, just like you.
I whisper a prayer that …
I want to scream out loud: “Wake up people, we’re circling the drain!”
Does anyone notice the state of our country, the state of the world that we are living in? The world is torn apart by something we cannot even see. Millions of lives have been lost; others who survive the COVID attack are frequently left with long-term side effects, most of which are not yet remedied by medical science. …
Words often spoken, but go unheard
I wake up feeling exhausted. This seemingly never-ending nightmare of mutating coronavirus keeps sucking the life out of me. During this past summer, we were receiving some signs of hope that COVID was in decline; this hope was ripped out from under us when the delta variant stood its ground and went rogue. Now, a new and upcoming challenger to the title “most transmissible coronavirus,” Omicron, is usurping a good …
My frustration pot has overflowed
Lurking in the shadows, it creeps in.
Spreading itself across the world.
Creeping into all recesses of human civilization,
like a slug oozing slime as it moves slowly and surely.A microscopic, spikey ball of evil engineered for killing.
Attacking its prey without warning.
Attaching itself, drawing lifeblood for its existence.
A parasite of sorts, devoid of a conscience.It matters not if victims are young, old, healthy, infirmed, rich, poor.
Existence is at risk and all are fair …
Is misinformation deadlier than the virus?
On August 25, 2021, the United States achieved two world records: approximately a total of 39 million cases of COVID-19 among our citizenry and approximately 648,000 deaths due to succumbing to COVID. Young, old; male, female; rich, poor — it doesn’t matter. We are all potential victims of this deadly disease.
Our numbers have surpassed the data of countries such as India, Brazil, and China. Haven’t we learned anything in almost …
I’m confused and disillusioned. When we were in the throes of the COVID pandemic at the beginning of this year, the talk revolved around when life-saving vaccines would become available for the general public. Thankfully, beginning during the first quarter of this year and continuing through present times, the COVID vaccine is being administered to all who wish to secure it. But unfortunately, in many states across our country, some …
The vaccine is not the enemy. COVID is.
For those working in the health care profession, life has been a nightmarish existence for the past 18 months. COVID-19, originally billed as an illness no more severe than the flu, has devastated America and most other world countries. Loss of life due to the virus has been astounding, often attacking the most vulnerable of our population. Now, more than 1 1/2 years later, the virus is still in our …
A message from a patient to health care workers: Always remember your humanity
I believe in the power and sanctity of the relationship between nurses, patients, and physicians. A feeling that one is part of a team, part of a triad, whose sole purpose is centered on enhancing the patient’s health. This security empowers a patient to move forward on his journey of health. In recent years, this strong bond has been tested and shaken. Why?
We live in a nation blessed with such …
The triad of health care: patient, nurse, physician
Days morphed into weeks, into months. It’s now been over a year, and the world is still living in the shadow of COVID. The world has changed; I have changed.
There is a sense of vulnerability now, more so than any time in recent years. Well, maybe the exception would be on September 11, 2001, when two small planes purposefully crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The …
How do we push forward into this new normal?
Maggie sits in the rocker by the window, peering out at the street and its passersby. So much hustle and bustle; it seems no one has a moment to spare. Even the squirrels seem to be in a hurry, scurrying about on the sidewalk below. What’s the big rush about?
The rocker was Bill’s favorite spot, Bill who was the love of her life. He would sit there reading the Sunday …
Caring for the elderly: We can do better. We must do better.
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 “sucker punch,” leveling us all to the ground. Positivity test rates sky-rocketed, death rates at unacceptable levels. The days have been dark.
Faulty political power plays brought havoc upon our country when we …
Doctors and patients continue to search through the overgrown forest of corporate health care
I listen to the wind howling outside on this night that’s stranded between the departing season of winter and the coming of spring. I await the arrival of longer days filled with sunshine, days that welcome new growth, new life.
During the year that has passed into the recesses of my mind, new life and new growth concepts seem foreign to me. As citizens of the world, we have been placed …
Let 2021 be the year we end the pandemic
My heart pumps rhythmically, as does yours, and aches when sadness strikes.
I am stressed and discouraged when I feel I have no control over an illness that invades my body. Is this not true for you as you lay in your bed at night, feeling that “your best was not good enough” to help your patient?
We enter this world and we will leave it someday; our mortality confronts us. Our …
Healer, are you so different from me?
“The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.”
– Sir William Osler
One of the most sacred and intimate relationships is that which exists between patient and physician. A patient shares feelings and fears as he traverses the path of illness or chronic disease. As roadblocks in health emerge, a patient looks …
The art of medicine: a patient’s perspective
We live in a world today where there is misinformation in abundant supply. What we see and hear in the media one day seems to be reversed the following day. What to believe, who to believe? Our world appears to be in a state of turmoil, a state of contradictions. Amid all of this, people are struggling to find some sense of peace and balance in their lives.
It is also …
Building a bond of trust between patient and physician
There are times when I feel that I am boxed-in by this unrelenting virus, COVID-19. This microscopic entity has put the majority of the world into lockdown, affecting all aspects of human life and social interaction. The virus does not discriminate due to race, creed, or color. Be you rich or poor, a professional or laborer, you are fair game to be its next victim. It stealthily works its evil …
I am disgusted with our politicians who have used the pandemic as a political tool
I walk this dark and winding path between wellness and illness, moving between darkness and light on this journey of life. As I move between well-being and an uneasy state of uncertainty, a roller-coaster of emotions moves over me. I am brought to my knees with doubt, restlessness, discontent, anger, and fear. At times, I feel heavy with the weight of the world upon my shoulders; other moments, I feel …
My healer, please guide me on this journey
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