"If you think a mother's pain is unimaginable, you should see her strength." You were visiting your mother when, while in another room, you became unresponsive and fell to the floor. She heard the thump of your fall and raced into the room to find you pale and barely breathing. Drug paraphernalia sat beside you. Your mother screamed. She cried. She fell to her knees and tried to wake you, slapping your cheek and compressing your chest and forcing her own breath into your mouth. You did not respond. Your mother frantically called 911. Within minutes, the paramedics arrived ..read more

So much of the world is broken and I want to be part of its healing... The election is over. It was turbulent and intense. It was frustrating and anxiety-provoking. It was hopeful and disappointing. It was the roller coaster ride we all anticipated it to be. Yet, we all remain in limbo, sitting in this awful gray zone of the unknown, wondering if our candidate will be declared the winner or if we will need to accept that the other guy pulled it off. We want to know now and yet we may not find out for days or weeks. We are each sitting in the fog of our own hopes and fears, our minds rac ..read more

"Where words are restrained, the eyes often talk a great deal." I walked into Room 30 to find two eager sets of eyes awaiting me. One set belonged to a young man, late-twenties, muscular and imposing, sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. His eyes were hazel brown, big and inviting, relieved at seeing my entry into their sheltered world. The other set of eyes, darker brown and magnified by her gold-stemmed glasses, belonged to my patient, a woman in her early-sixties. She sat  upright in her treatment cot, knees drawn up to her chest and covered by the thin hospital-issued b ..read more

The little things? The little moments? They aren't little... I noticed the two of them shortly after I arrived for my shift. I was standing at the counter, immersed in a chart, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw them walk out of their treatment room. Together. Slowly, they walked into the hallway, looking first to their left and then to their right, wondering which way to go. One of them pointed down the hallway, grabbed the other's pale hand, and they began to walk toward their destination. They were obviously in-sync and comfortable with one another, leaning into one another with each ..read more

A picture is worth a thousand words... The patient arrived in cardiac arrest. He had been brought to our emergency department in the middle of the night. Although he had a significant cardiac history, including bypass surgery, he was only in his late-forties. His transport from his house to our department had been less than ten minutes and the pre-hospital team had done an excellent job of intubating this patient and establishing an IV to begin resuscitation efforts. His wife was with him. Less than fifteen short minutes before their arrival, her life had been altered forever when her husban ..read more

"...it would be interesting to find out what goes on in that moment  when someone looks at you and draws all sorts of conclusions." A few years back, I took care of a frail elderly gentleman who, accompanied by his wife, had come to the ER with an elbow injury after tripping over a curb in front of a local restaurant. They had been traveling from Buffalo to Cleveland and had stopped for a quick bite and a bathroom break. Before entering his room to treat him, I had been given a heads-up by Rita, his nurse, that this patient's demeanor was abrasive and demanding. "You are going to love hi ..read more

Do your little bit of good where you are. It's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.    Desmond Tutu Recently, my son Cole and I were enjoying an afternoon out of the house, running around town to tackle our to-do list of errands (masked, of course). We stopped at Sam's Club and Walmart, stocking up on our low supplies of food and other necessities. As an added bonus, we enjoyed the people-watching and marveled at the wide spectrum of personal flaws the other shoppers provided us. It seemed that the Covid-19 crisis had fueled an already blossoming tre ..read more

This breath is a gift... This moment is a gift... This life is a gift... As with every other person, I am struggling to comprehend the staggering effects that Covid-19 has had on our society in such a short time. Gone are the carefree smiles, the uncomplicated daily lives, and the thought that we and our families are immune to unexpected death. Instead, we are witnessing a collapse in society to the degree that most believe survival hinges on the amount of toilet paper and paper towel one has stockpiled. Being an ER physician facing this dilemma on the front lines of a large emergency and tr ..read more

"The death of a child is the single most traumatic event in medicine. To lose a child is to lose a piece of yourself." I walked into work yesterday morning and it only took seconds to appreciate the immense sorrow and sadness that permeated the air. My beautiful work family was despondent and deflated. Shoulders were slumped, feet were shuffling, faces wore defeat. Something terrible had occurred during the night shift. Damn it. I felt my heart clench with the fear of anticipating the news that would cause such palpable pain to my coworkers. Walking toward the first nurses' station, "Centra ..read more