The Throes of History
In honor of International Women’s Day, I wrote the following semi-fictional piece, originally published in Italian on March 7, 2016 in la Repubblica. In 1979, when Soviet tanks rolled into Afghanistan to begin a decade long invasion, my parents decide to stay in the United States and grow roots like the elm tree that shades our…
A Day in the Life of an Obstetrician: On Gratitude
Monday morning, I turned my cell phone on at 7:45 AM as usual, after having a cup of coffee in my breakfast room and skimming through the newspaper. One of my partners called, informing how a patient I admitted several days ago for severe fatigue during pregnancy had fallen out of her hospital bed last…
Launching a New Mobile Safety App for Americans Overseas
Last Sunday, I hosted a brunch at my home with guest speakers Paula Lucas and Samier Mansur, which was well attended by my LadyDoc friends – thank you so much! It was an inspiring presentation attended by an energetic mix of people who embraced my dedication to improving the safety of Americans here and abroad….
Delightful Food Experiences in Vietnam
When we were in Vietnam, we spent a few days in HoiAn, a town known for its silk and for its tailors who can create a dress or suit to your liking overnight. There’s also a very successful chef and entrepreneur, Ms. Vy, who owns 5 restaurants. In any tour book, you can find information…
Beauty and Sadness Intertwined – A Visit to Vietnam and Cambodia
We just returned from a two week whirlwind tour through Vietnam, with one stop in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Since this was my first time traveling in Asia, there was a tremendous amount to take in, including the the physical beauty, the history of the region, the culture, the food, the unique traffic patterns … The…
Confessions of a Gym Rat: How I Have Matured with my Exercise Routine
I read my friend Dr. Julia Korenman’s blog a few weeks ago about why she exercises. Julia is a better athlete than she admitted, and a disciplined one when it comes to fitness. She comes out to walk or jog on the C&O even in the deep winter. For anyone who devotes a big chunk of her busy…
It’s OK to Be an Artist
When I started as an undergraduate student at Ohio State University, I was a French Literature major. I immersed myself in Sartre and Camus, Proust and Gide and the poetry of great poets like Villon and Prevert. I didn’t think about a future in the Sciences; I thought I was on my way to becoming…
In Mom’s Memory
Today marks the fourth anniversary of the day my mother died from a hard fall at a local hospital in Northern Virginia, the day before she was supposed to be discharged from the hospital to a rehab center. She was a poorly controlled diabetic who suffered all kinds of complications from her surgery. Routinely, patients…
Confessions of a Non-Athlete
Do you exercise? If you don’t, is it intimidating to think of getting started? Have you stopped for a while? Isn’t it hard to get that motivation to get moving once again? As I was watching Dr. Tran run ahead of me on the C & O canal, taking pictures as she went, I was…
End of Life: Time or Quality?
The evening before the blizzard, my husband and I drove after work to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to see a friend who has been hospitalized for a week for her cancer treatment. She was diagnosed with both thyroid and esophageal cancer six months ago. She underwent chemotherapy and radiation. The tumors have made it…