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A Broken Heart (read the entire article)
Last week in a Labor and Delivery Suite with my patient Tina, I watched her five year old boy stay glued to the television, while his mother went through all the travails of labor in the bed just behind him. He seemed oblivious to the fact his younger sibling was about to appear in the world, and that his mother was in unbelievable pain....
A Cancer Operation (read the entire article)
The operation has lasted three hours and is perhaps at its halfway point. The scrub technicians can rotate in and out as they tire. I watch a scrub tech named Josh arrive to take the place of Cathy. Cathy possesses a quiet competence, a pleasant smile – and has laughed at all my jokes. As far as I’m concerned, Josh can only be a poor substitute....
A Celestial Discharge (read the entire article)
Three painful months of my twelve month internship in Obstetrics and Gynecology were spent on the General Medicine Wards at Grady Memorial Hospital. Even the Internal Medicine residents – who actually belonged there - hated working the Grady Wards....
Everday is Father's Day (read the entire article)
Despite its lifetime warranty my bathroom scale is broken. No matter how many times, or how gingerly, I step on it, it keeps telling me I weigh more than I do. Also, my clothes are all shrinking, despite labels which clearly state they are machine wash-and-wear....
A Disappointing Tumor (read the entire article)
I once removed a tumor that weighed nine pounds and twelve ounces. Before the operation I had told my patient that the mass on her ovary was at least ten pounds. So I was four ounces shy - and very disappointed....
Look What I Did, Honey(read the entire article)
I usually ask the father to cut the umbilical cord when he’s at the delivery. It’s not that I need the help. Rather, cutting the cord is an important symbolic event. An expectant woman becomes a mother, a family is born, hope wonderfully fulfilled.... |
