April 10th, 2011 by DrWes in Humor, True Stories
Tags: Cardiology, Guts, O.R., Operating Room, Pediatrics, Through A child's eyes
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He must have been about eight at the time. I had made the mistake of watching doctor shows on TV with him and he had probably heard my wife and I describe the challenges of my doctor lifestyle at times over dinner. For the most part, he seemed oblivious and liked the things that most young boys at that age do: sports, jungle gyms, mud, and bicycles, but he had never seen his Dad at work.
So the day came when my wife was doing errands and stopped by the hospital with the kids to drop off my pager which I had inadvertently left at home. As timing would have it, I had just scrubbed in a case, so she was kind enough to bring the pager to the electrophysiology lab control room where the technicians could retrieve it for me. My son, realizing how close he was to my workplace asked within earshot of the technician, “Mom, could I see?” She looked at the technician, and he nodded agreement. Cautiously, they entered the control room just to wave “hi” briefly through the glass. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
April 9th, 2011 by KerriSparling in True Stories
Tags: Diabetes, Eye Exam, Fear, healthcare, Joslin, Ophthalmology, Optic Nerve, Retinopathy, Scare, Swollen, Type 1 Diabetes
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“Everything looks good. No progress is good, actually. Means your eyes haven’t deteriorated any further in the last five months.” Dr S, my eye doctor at the Joslin Clinic, ran her fingers across the keyboard, typing notes into my online file.
“So it’s the same as back in November? When I moved from mild to moderate retinopathy?”
“Right. Still non-proliferative, but the same. Not worse, by any stretch. We’re working with a few spots, a very small bit of leakage, but nothing I’d recommend treatment for, other than watching it closely.”
I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. The fluorescent bulbs in the room were bright and ricocheting off the white walls, making me feel like I was in an avalanche of light. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
April 6th, 2011 by Linda Burke-Galloway, M.D. in Health Tips, True Stories
Tags: Death Rates, Ecclampsia, Hypertension, Maternal Death, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Pregnancy
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When we hear about maternal death, we immediately think of a third world country but in reality, 2 to 3 women die every day in the U.S. from pregnancy and childbirth. Unfortunately, African American women are affected disproportionately and are four times more likely to die than anyone else. The tragedy is that at least half of these deaths are preventable.
In her article, Special Report: Black Women Die Nearly Four Times the Rate of White Women From Pregnancy Complications, Rita Henley Jensen, describes the dilemma of the acting chief of the maternal and infant unit of CDC, Dr. William Callaghan. Callaghan can’t sleep at night because he wants to know why pregnancy is more dangerous for U.S. African American women.
During my residency training, I witnessed a maternal death. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*
April 4th, 2011 by AnnMacDonald in Health Tips, True Stories
Tags: Breast Cancer, Cancer, Damocles Syndrome, Health, Mental Health, Psychiatry, Psychological Toll, Psychology, Survivor Guilt, Survivorship
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One of my closest friends is a two-time breast cancer survivor. Terry (as I’ll call her) has been cancer free for eight years—long enough to be considered cured (generally defined as being in remission at least five years). But in no way is she “free” of cancer. Every abnormal blood test, every callback for another mammogram terrifies her so badly she can’t sleep until doctors rule out a recurrence. In some ways, the ongoing psychological and emotional challenges she faces have been worse than the physical treatments she endured.
I thought about Terry when I read the latest government statistics on the number of cancer survivors in this country. Nearly 12 million Americans—4% of the population—are still alive after a cancer diagnosis.
In many respects this is terrific news, and a testament to improved diagnosis and treatment options. But survivorship comes at a psychological price. We discussed these challenges at length in the Harvard Mental Health Letter, but here’s a quick look at some of the major issues. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
April 3rd, 2011 by KerriSparling in Humor, True Stories
Tags: Diabetes, Dunkin' Donuts, Endocrinology, food, Splenda, Type 1 Diabetes
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It’s been well-documented that my coffee addiction is … substantial. Briefly on hiatus during my pregnancy, I was reunited with my beloved beverage after the baby was born, and now I’m back in the habit.
Since I work from our home office and I’m also the primary caregiver for BSparl, sleep is a hot commodity. Actually, I don’t get to sleep much, so the coffee is very much my friend these days. Work hard, play hard, drink much of the coffee.
The other day, I was out with the baby, running a few errands. I had to visit the post office, the grocery store, CVS … and Dunkin Donuts. I try to make my order sound fresh and new (versus something I say almost without thinking), and I leaned out the window to order into the drive through speaker. (Instead of into the garbage can, which is something I’ve done more times than I’d care to admit.)
“Hi!” Total joy. “Can I please have a medium iced coffee with cream and two Splenda?”
“Sure thing. Please drive up.”
So I drive up. But when I get to the window, there’s a little bit of confusion.
“Okay, so one coffee with milk and sugar, two doughnuts, and a bagel with cream cheese?” The boy attending the window had a bag of deliciousness in his hand. My stomach said “YES! YES. THOSE BELONG TO ME.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
