A Day In Hiroshima: Tolling the Bell for Peace
Two weeks ago we were in Japan. It was an amazing and interesting country and culture for us to explore. The Japanese we met during our trip were so polite, so gentle, and very formal in many ways. Their streets were absolutely clean, something we had heard from many friends who had travelled to Japan…
On Valor and Vitality – Lessons from Senator McCain’s ‘Battle’ Against Cancer
Senator John McCain’s “maverick” politics placed him among the most intriguing contemporary legislators. His policies and feud with the current president continue to inspire support and criticism from the partisan masses. But Senator McCain’s last year of life also inspired conversations about how we cope with illness, both individually and collectively. In July of 2017,…
Tomato Day: A Morning at Carrboro Farmers Market
Every time my husband and I are in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, visiting my parents-in-law, we make sure to join them for the Saturday ritual of going to the wonderful Carrboro Farmers Market. The market is quite extensive, with cheese, pasta, gourmet soup or bread makers, mushroom farmers, and flower growers, in addition to the…
A Summer BBQ Festival: A Face of America
The summer is finally descending on to our area. It seems as if the rain has been incessant, soaking my treasured tropical and cactus plants on my deck. We saw some speckles of sun yesterday and decided to keep our plan to go to a BBQ and Music festival in Washington DC. We are trying…
Parts Unknown: What I Will Miss About Anthony Bourdain
Over the years, I have heard of many suicides from patients and friends, from the media on famous people like the Hemingway family members or actor Robin Williams. There was an elderly patient who went to me for quite a few years, forming a mutual bond beyond the usual patient-doctor relationship. I knew many details…
Basic Strategies for Stress Management
Everyone deals with stress in his or her own way. Some of us seem to have as busy and as stressful a life as others, yet we seem to have little or no anxiety or depression, whereas others in similar situations suffer significantly. Some of us, when feeling stressed, develop “bad” habits, like drinking alcohol…
Letter to Johanny : Another Step to the Stars!
Dear Johanny, It has been three years since we first met, you as a third year college student from the Georgetown Scholarship Program, me as an obstetrician who came to tell you and your friends in the program about my journey as a young, poor immigrant trying to reach for the stars and achieving my…
Acrylamide in Coffee? I Am Not Giving Up My Daily Two Cups!
Every Sunday morning, a group of Lady Docs friends and I take our run or walk on the C&O canal by the Potomac River, a five mile run or four mile speed walk. We then regroup at the starting point and drive to Black Lion Cafe, a charming Ethiopian coffee house in Rockville, to…
March For Our Lives, Listen to the Children Cry!
In 2006, Elizabeth Edwards, ex-wife of former North Carolina Senator John Edwards poignantly told stories about her grief over her oldest son who had died in a car accident at 16 years old. Mrs. Edwards was fighting stage 4 breast cancer and died a few years after the interview. Elizabeth Edwards, like a typical…
A Quest for Longevity by the “Experts”
Three years ago, on Father’s Day, I wrote a blog about my father and how strong he was at 92 years old. Last weekend, we celebrated his 95th birthday. I was on call and delivered two babies, a boy and a girl. My patients were both beaming when I told them how their babies now…