Our family argues a lot. Dad’s a physician. My two siblings and I are also doctors. Naturally we all have strong opinions. One of those arguments was whether or not Mom has COVID-19. Personally, I thought there was a good possibility. She had developed…
Two days ago Mom was at death’s door. Because of the decline of her lungs, heart and metabolic status, she needed to be intubated. Before the coronavirus pandemic, if a loved one was sick in the hospital, you dropped what you were doing to…
Yesterday we held our breath. Mom’s condition was worsening. She was going to be intubated and sedated. We had what we thought could be our last conversation with her.…
When a loved one is sick, what outcome should be pray for? The answer may seem obvious. We pray for healing, for recovery, for cure. However, it seems to me there’s a more important outcome than merely extension of life. But first an update…
There’s one thing I hate about the coronavirus pandemic: it robs you of future plans. I hadn’t seriously touched my violin in 15 years. This year I started taking lessons again and began preparing works by Ravel, Brahms, Bach and Sarasate. With my sister…
Even at a young age my wife was a germaphobe. When she was only 10 years old she would sleep with her hand hanging from the side of the bed. This was the hand used to touch doorknobs and other surfaces. She didn’t want…
Today we celebrate the birthday of Mom. I use the term “celebrate” loosely. Dad and I are here in Florida with my wife and children. My brother David and his family are in California. My sister Deborah is in Tennessee with her husband. Meanwhile,…
Every child ought to have a birth story. The towering characters of the Bible such as Jesus and Moses had them. The gospels tell us of a baby heralded by angels, attended to by wisemen and escaped from Herod. Baby Moses survived genocide via…
Throughout my life I’ve asked myself this following question. This question has come up multiple times throughout my life – especially throughout college, medical school and residency. One time it has come was during an internal medicine rotation at the Jerry Pettis Memorial VA…
My family and I will be moving from Idaho to Florida by the end of August 2019. When I first came up here to Idaho in the summer of 2014 I was fresh out of residency, single and living in a garage. In order…
