LadyDocs Give Thanks

We would not be honest if we can’t admit that 2024 has been a turbulent year, with several major wars in the world and many conflicts in our own country where tribal fights are in the open.  Which side should one be on? Who are our saviors and who are the destroyers? 

Many of us have lost friends, family members and neighbors over our political discourse.  Like everything else in life, we need to remind ourselves that nothing is permanent in this world, including power, fame or wealth.  At the end, social relationships, kindness and love hopefully will conquer all hate and fear.

Our Lady Docs friends were asked to reflect on what they are grateful and hopeful for during this Thanksgiving season. The messages below were submitted to share with you.

Dr. Carolyn O’Connor – Family Medicine:

I am thankful for many things. I would put near the top of my list that I am thankful for my friends. My heart sings when I feel a communion of the spirit with them. It seems that no burden is too heavy to bear when it is shared with friends you love. On the canvas of my life, family provides the outlines, but friends supply the color. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all and especially to my friends.

Dr. Judith Gurdian – ObGyn:

My first reaction to Thu’s Thanksgiving email asking for Thanksgiving messages from her Lady Docs friends was, “Not this year!” Six months after my sister dropped dead, three months after my best friend died and my niece lost her job.  I feel pretty glum.

But then I thought a bit more.  My oldest had his aortic valve and arch repaired and is doing well.  My daughter who has battled disabling depression for years had a stellate ganglion injection and is now working for the first time in 4 years and has relearned how to laugh.  My youngest has a wonderful girlfriend and I may yet have grand babies.  (If you watch The Outlanders, that is called granny lust.)

I have the honor and joy to be able to still be practicing medicine and the wonder of teaching Howard OB/GYN residents who are my additional 16  children.  I have been able to share with them the honor of being a physician and why this profession still matters..

I have my teeth, my health and my brains intact while I see colleagues losing all of the above.  I have the financial freedom to be able to hop on a plane to visit my son in England when I feel like it, and to know that I can still help any of my kids who may need me.

While my parents are long gone, they are yet still with me.  When I am worried or frightened or angry I can hear my mother say “Oh, for God’s sake.  Get over yourself!”  I laugh and pick myself up and move along.

I remain blessed to be able to support 4 kids in Ukraine whose parents were killed in the war and know that my help has kept them together. I will be able to share my Thanksgiving with 6 of my patients who have lost families this year and had no place to go.  Two women who lost their husband, a young woman whose husband left her and 3 others who are also alone this year.  This has been a new annual experience for me since COVID and my family and patients are all the richer for it.

In January, I will still have an office where I can work as much as I want but will not have to get out of bed to catch babies anymore.  (OK that is not all a plus but, mostly.)

What do I hope for?  That we do something about global warming, that the Ukraine survives and that the Middle East does not destroy itself as there are people there I love as well. 

When I add up these columns, I remain afraid for our country, but am personally incredibly fortunate and hopeful for the future.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Dr. Naveena Hemanth- Psychiatry:

Life is always happening. I am thankful to be part of that happening life, in the moment, to be able to share that with my family, friends, colleagues, patients and really all those I come across that teach me through their being. While many in the world today are suffering and I cannot fix it all, I am thankful for being a part of this amazing community that gives back to this world one way or the other. After all, one idea, one thought, one step – that’s what leads to one healthy world

Dr. Mindi Cohen – Family Medicine:

Last night was one of those moments where time seemed to pause, and I felt the profound joy of being Amma to Sunny and Birdie. Sitting on the couch, with Birdie snuggled on my lap and Sunny nestled beside me, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Their warmth, laughter, and trust filled the room, creating a cocoon of love. Watching TV together, then sharing the stories in their books before tucking them into bed, reminded me how precious these fleeting years are. Being their grandmother is a gift—a chance to be a part of their daily wonder and to give them the steady, unconditional love that shapes their world.

Dr. Chitra Rajagopal- Hematology Oncology:

Sometimes, one takes one’s privileges for granted and we discount our blessings. However, on being asked by Thu and Marsha to pen a few words about what I am grateful for, my first reaction was what do I have to be grateful for? We have had this terrible strife in this country, and the world is being split apart by authoritarian forces, it all just looks terribly bleak. 

However a few minutes later, the thoughts started popping out, I am first of all so grateful I live in this country! As a foreigner who came to this country, I can tell you how much I longed to emigrate here in my childhood, as I truly believe that President Regan said it the best, “The shining city on the hill”. For many of you who are born in this country, I cannot describe to you what a beacon of freedom, energy and hope America is for so many people in this world! When I think about how many folks yearn to cross the borders, it makes me incredibly grateful that I was privileged to be allowed into this country and generously invited to participate into this amazing experiment that is America. 

I am grateful that this country gave me the opportunity to practice my profession without repression, and limitations, and with access to cutting edge science. I am grateful that I get the privilege to raise my daughter as a happy healthy free individual who got to achieve her dream of becoming a physician and an oncologist at that. I am so fortunate that my son who was diagnosed as being autistic as a baby has had the best of care that science and society can provide with such ease. I can, at the end of my life, state without hesitation that this country has provided for him without even my asking for it or having to fight for it, the best of care and the most modern practices that has helped him achieve his best life. I am so glad that while the strain and stress of raising an autistic child could have easily divided us, my husband, my childhood friend, continues to be by my side and we both as a unit are able to tackle all that faces our family. We are both truly blessed to have had the opportunity to be called Americans. Yes, we may have ups and downs, but we have the freedom to protest, and keep striving for a more perfect union in this country. I will forever be grateful that America extended her generous arms to me and my family. God bless America.

Dr.  Bhavana Mistry – Dentistry:

First and foremost so very grateful for my family and friend support whom I consider ‘near and so very dear to me.’

Blessed to have good health  and great girls that make me proud to be their Mom!  So very content that my work life at the dental office  and my home life cooking in my kitchen both bring out smiles 🙂

Dr. Julia Korenman – Gastroenterology:

 I am thankful for the friendship, support and inspiration of Lady Docs. You make me laugh, challenge me to learn new things, and give of yourselves in so many ways that you are role models and make me strive to be a better person.  

I am thankful for my family, my friends and my overall good health. In 2025, I will be married for 40 years (how did time pass so quickly?) and I am grateful to have had my husband at my side through life’s different phases and ups and downs. 

I am grateful that my children want me in their lives and that I have 2 adorable grandchildren. 

This year I am thinking about change, accepting it versus fighting it and appreciating the small things that bring me so much joy, paying attention to what is good in my life, and giving less space to what is difficult, and what I don’t like. I am trying to learn to be a glass half full person!  Life doesn’t stand still and my ability to do the things that I enjoy most likely will not last forever.  

 I get pleasure out of being able to walk, to explore, to clear my head and to commune with nature with my friends. I am grateful to be able to get down on the ground and play with my grandchildren, and that I can get back up again! I am thankful that I have been able to drive back and forth to Denver several times to visit my son and his family, and to have the time to discover quirky roadside sights, state parks, marshes, canyons and unexpectedly good restaurants in rural Kansas. 

I am grateful for books and libraries and that I can read. I am grateful that I can still learn, and have the time to dabble in different subjects. 

I am grateful that I have choices in my life, and time to try out new things. 

I am grateful for trying to meditate, which reminds me to slow down, to accept life on its own terms, and to pay attention to the moments.  I am glad that I don’t have to do it, or anything else, perfectly. 

I am safe, sheltered, and well fed and on this Thanksgiving. I am so grateful for that and wish it for others.  

 I hope for peace. I hope that our leaders will try to make things better for as many people as possible.  

I wish all of you and your families lots of life’s little joys and hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!  

Gail Fisher – Family Therapy:

Gratitude :

AM sunrises and PM sunsets – whether they wow the sky or quietly welcome me to a new day or softly close a satisfying one.

The immense beauty of the complexity of the  natural world around me quiets me, encourages me, stirs my imagination, bolsters my sense of wonder, fuels my curiosity.

The quiet of time immersed in poetry, or the magical – sometimes enigmatic words of immersive novels, or the admiration of photography and the profound  awe of other’s creativity.

The village that surrounds me envelops me in its willingness to support, challenge, and encourage – how might one live fully without those who are entwined with my life by birth or by choice.

Dr. Zahide Erkmen – Radiology:

It has been a tough year, physically and emotionally.  No, I’m not talking about the recent wars or election (well, those too). After my unlucky break (literally) in Telluride in March, my tibial plateau fracture required surgery, two months of non- weightbearing, and month after month of physical therapy. I am still recovering, working, and hoping to get back to baseline.  A few months after my first injury, in an unlucky instant on a boat in the Outer Banks, I broke my radius and ulna, also requiring surgery and more PT.

 I have much to be grateful for, however.  Those incidents were “fixable,” and I am recovering, albeit slowly.  I am grateful to be able to do things I once took for granted: take a shower, drive a car, cook dinner for my family, pick up the mail at the end of the driveway.  I am grateful for my husband, who tirelessly brought me coffee to bed, put strategic night lights so I would not fall going to the bathroom at night, made me lunch every day, and drove me back and forth to work, two hours in the car, to name only a few things. I am grateful for my friends, like Thu, who drove me chauffeur style to book clubs, Marsha, who brought healthy food to my house, and Miriam, who massaged my swollen foot and taught me exercises from her arsenal. I am grateful for my job, without which I would have stayed home, feeling sorry for myself during the long recovery. 

 

I am grateful for many, many things.  I am grateful for my son, who has grown up to be a man of character, who loves books, nature, and his family and friends (Success just follows!).  I am grateful for my 81-year-old mother, living independently, mind sharper than my own. 

 

Interlaced with feelings of gratitude, I am hopeful: I hope I can ski again one day. I hope we will have a woman president in my lifetime. I hope democracy will prevail. I hope we can be kind to one another, to our neighbors, our countrymen, no matter their politics, color, or faith, and to our brethren across the world.  I hope those who are suffering will have a respite. I hope we will be kind to the earth, and not take her for granted, so we can preserve her for our children and many generations to come. 

Dr. Mylene Tran Huynh, Family Medicine:

I’m so very thankful for many loving friends and family; husband of 35 years, three fine sons, and a daughter-in-law, whose presence and essence bring me so much joy as they shape who I am.  I’m grateful for my mom, who at the age of 81, continues to demonstrate incredible strength and resilience after suffering a serious motor vehicle accident, she fought with smiles and determination to recover well.

I’m thankful for Top Gun Velo (TGV): a group of 20+ friends who became family when we gathered during the COVID-19 pandemic to bike together. TGV has inspired me to stay physically fit in my late 50s and to bike one century/100+-mile each year over the past four years…and in future years.  As athletics have never been my strong suit, I would have never ridden even one century bike ride without my TGV family support and encouragement. My TGV family has made fitness fun; we have shared lots of laughter during our many bike rides together.

I’m grateful for the Women of Wisdom (WOW) whose spiritual wisdom and everlasting friendships have been fulfilling my boundless thirst for understanding how the Universe works and the nature of our “Inter-being, Inter-connectedness, and Oneness.”  The WOW sisters’ many open, fearless, and heartfelt conversations have guided me on a spiritual path that is filled with awe and wonder.  I’m also thankful for all the wonderful teachers and fellow 0600 AM practitioners at Tysons Hot Yoga for creating a tranquil atmosphere, allowing me to arrive “just in time” to practice and start my day with inner peace. 

Last but not least, I’m especially grateful for all my patients; their unwavering courage in facing difficult health challenges have inspired me to grow professionally, to learn new skills, and to ”think and act outside the box” in order to be a deserving partner in their healing journey. I am indebted to my patients for their trust in me and for showing me that whole mind-body healing is the only way to true healing.  Because of my patients, who are really my teachers, my work brings me so much joy, meaning, and fulfillment. 

Dr. Jackie Eghrari-Sabet, Allergy/Immunology:   

I am grateful that I get to help people.  I am grateful that I was accepted into this most honorable profession of medicine.  Grateful that I was allowed to be trained in the most prestigious institutions by mentors and professors who gave their all so I could help people.  I am ever grateful that my patients seek out help, tell me their vulnerable concerns, and trust in me to help.  It is amazing and astonishing that this happens every time I walk through that examining room  door.  Its magic.  I am so thankful that I still get to be part of that magic after 30 years. 

Dr. Miriam Graham, PT, DPT, MBA:

We are all here on a mission. I’m grateful to be in the present with this assortment of people–family, friends, and colleagues.  If we are all here together, at this time, there must be a reason for it—even if we don’t see that reason—yet!  One of life’s adventures is to figure that out. I’m thankful to learn and for the growth that comes from learning and travel. Thankful for my business partner, Reshma Rathod, for always challenging me to be more. We’ve been together 30+ years and 20+ years as business partners! Thankful for Arpana Verma for leading the Camino 2024 trip—I would not be the person I am now without the Camino. I am thankful for Thu Tran and all my Bhutan sisters—your acceptance and love gives me a base from which to grow and glow. I’ve never felt I fit in with a group of women like I have with all of you! I’m thankful for all of my writing friends and a particular rainy morning at Ogyen Choling when I discovered I could write with my senses. After that, I connected with my body. I hope to continue my Wednesday 4:45 – 7am writing playtime.  I hope to be a force of light and positivity and accept my shadows as they are, just shadows. I hope to align my power and love with clarity of purpose and see that purpose as it continues to evolve. I hope to continue to teach and to advocate for people’s bodies and spirit, and to do this on a larger scale. I hope to have the fearlessness to do a handstand without a spotter, deadlift twice my body weight, and publish my writing.

Dr. Molly Strauss – Psychiatry:

This year at Thanksgiving, I reflect on the many patients who have so greatly enriched my life. I am grateful to all of the men and women who have trusted me to share their lives with me.  It has been a great privilege to help them work through pain and see their growth. Since I have recently retired, I miss these relationships.  However, I am so grateful that I have experienced them and I know I will take what I have learned from them into my personal relationships with friends and family. 

Dr. Thu Tran – Gynecology:

I am grateful for a healthy life which allows me to explore the world vicariously, surrounded by the loving support of my family and friends.  I am so fortunate to have so many loving relationships that lift me up like a mycelium network underneath the earth that bind all the trees together.  I am grateful to recognize that only love counts, not power, money, wealth, as they are elusive destinations.  I have had an incredible career as a physician! I am grateful for my patients from whom I learned so many life lessons.  The wisdom we gather often comes from those who are more vulnerable than us.  Their hardship and resilience help build our gratitude and strength.

I am grateful for my now almost 102 year old father who’s wise, peaceful, independent, with a sharp and poetic mind.  He spends his days composing poetry or surfing the internet to see beautiful things from far away places.  His mobility is more limited now, but his mind never stops traveling and exploring this very interesting planet.  He is in his own “blue zone.”

As I have observed so much sadness and cruelty around the world this year, I am still hopeful that compassion and humanity will somehow emerge from  the hearts and souls of many powerful leaders.  I am hopeful for a world where its citizens expand their compassion and kindness beyond their own circles of friends and families.  All beings are the same if we have the ability to look beyond our external shells.  I am hopeful for all the children in this world to grow up in a free, safe, clean, peaceful and kind environment.  Children deserve responsible and compassionate adults to create such promise land for them. 

I wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving, and may you be in your best health!

We wish you and your families a happy Thanksgiving.  Take a walk in nature, cook together, remind each other of positive moments in life, and meditate on a future of peace, loving and kindness.  

Wishing all of you a restorative Thanksgiving weekend,

The Lady Docs and Friends

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendell Berry