December 30th, 2011 by BruceCampbellMD in Opinion
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“Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? —Every, every minute?”
-Thornton Wilder
His cancer was growing and his symptoms were progressing alarmingly. As holiday music played in the background, I searched the calendar to see how rapidly his surgery could be scheduled. The young man and his wife first looked relieved when we found a surgical opening in the coming week, but their faces fell as they realized that he would spend December 25th in the hospital. Family plans were to be put on hold that year. The future was uncertain.
It has always seemed to me that “cancer” causes more life disruption during this time of year. The quickened pace of life and the family expectations, particularly when small children are involved, push people to their limits.
On the other hand, Read more »
December 25th, 2011 by Linda Burke-Galloway, M.D. in Better Health Network
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When I think about Christmas, I instinctively think about the miracle of birth. Four million miracles (aka births) happen in our country each year and many more occur globally. On a hot summer night in the urban community of Harlem almost 30 years ago, I witnessed my first miracle as a volunteer and was never the same again. The mother was a young teen who had been pushing for approximately forty-five minutes. She suddenly let out a piercing scream and out popped the hairy head of baby who started to wail. The mother sat straight up and peered down at the baby whose body had yet to be delivered. The delivery nurse admonished her to lie back down so that the baby could be delivered properly. Oh what a humorous and miraculous sight. I was in complete awe. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*
January 1st, 2011 by Linda Burke-Galloway, M.D. in Better Health Network, True Stories
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The holiday season is a time of both joy and sorrow. Tomorrow a childhood friend will be laid to rest — one of my favorite artists, Teena Marie, died unexpectedly two days ago and at least six other people have made their transitions as well. My own father died unexpectedly on Christmas Eve in 1981 leaving a great void in our family life. Why do people leave us during the holiday season? It has been said because they want to be remembered.
While I lamented about all the transitions that occurred in the past two weeks, one of my best friends announced that she had a new granddaughter that was born on Christmas Day. She stated that this was part of the “life cycle” or “circle of life.” Her comments gave me reason to pause and reflect. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*
December 24th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Opinion
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Every day I go to work and spend time with suffering people. They come to me for help and for comfort. They open up to me with problems that they would not tell anyone else. They put trust in me — even if I am not able to fix their problems. I serve as a source of healing, but I also am a source of hope.
Christmas is a moving season for many of the same reasons. No, I am not talking about the giving of gifts or the time spent with family. I am not talking about traditions, church services, or singing carols. I am not even talking about what many see as thereal meaning of Christmas: Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wise men, and baby Jesus. The Christmas story most of us see in pictures or read about in story books is a far cry from the Biblical account. The story we see and hear is sanctified, clean, and safe.
Before I go on, I want to assure my readers that I am in no way trying to persuade them to become Christians. I am a Christian, but whether or not you believe the actual truth of the story, there is much to be learned from it. I find it terribly hard to see the real Christmas story here in a country where the season is filled with so much else — much of it very good. It is far easier to just be happy with family, friends, giving gifts, singing songs, and maybe even going to church, than it is to contemplate the Christmas story. I think the Christians in our culture have gotten way off base on this — much to our shame.
Christmas is not about prosperity and comfort. It is about help to the hopeless. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
