Originally written June 2020. Re-posted June 2022, in honor of Juneteenth.
Tag: gods love
A Broken Heart
“What brings you in today?” A physician in dark grey scrubs sat in a chair, holding his iPad and stylus, eager to obtain the necessary information. “I’ve been having a lot of chest pain lately.” “I’m sorry to hear that. I know you’ve already been through the initial triage with the nurse and you’ve already …
The Good Listener
"It's back." Tears rolled down her cheeks and she sobbed. "Oh, no." I grabbed her hand and held it tight. She could only feel the rubbery material of my gloves and she could only see my eyes above my mask but despite the physical barriers, she knew my comfort was there. "You've gotten through it …
Prayer Works, Part 3
She spent most of her days overwhelmed with fatigue. She spent a lot of days vomiting. She spent a lot of days traveling to her doc’s office for radiation. She spent two years with breast cancer. I spent time with this patient for two years. I spent our visits smiling with her. I spent our …
A Symphony During A Pandemic
"Sometimes it's hard to breathe. All these thoughts are shoutin' me. Try to bring me to my knees. And it's overwhelming. Darkness echoes all around. Feels like everything is crashing down." When I discovered a child abuse case a few years back, I found it hard to breathe. The x-ray was shouting at me. The …
The Promises of Medicine
Part of practicing family medicine is providing patient education. I have to be able to explain diagnoses and treatments and answer patient questions. A great example is when I diagnose overactive or under-active thyroid disorders (hyper or hypothyroidism). "Will I have to take this medication forever?" I'm often asked. "Yes." "Will the medication work?" Is …
A Healthy Heart
There are a few tips that I give to my patients with hypertension, coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and/or other heart conditions. Reduce your salt intake. Nowadays, most people are good with the salt shaker. But now, we have "hidden salt". It's the salt that sneaks up on my patients. It's the one found in canned …
Finding Faith In Medicine 