Playing For Two – Pregnancy and Athletic Training
There are moments in one’s tennis career that are life changing: earning your first direct entry into a WTA event; moving up the rankings to the next level; winning your first title; being selected to compete for your country; or learning that you are going to be a mother. For some players, motherhood and pregnancy…
Stephen King’s Movie “It” and The Bill to Repeal the Affordable Care Act
My husband and I had not gone to see a movie for a long time until last weekend. I was going to propose a romantic movie such as “Tulip Fever,” but we were told it didn’t have a good review. I have always liked horror movies so I quickly urged my husband to take me…
What’s New with Flu (2017-18)
The autumn months bring temperature changes and remind us of the influenza (flu) season that will occur soon. Influenza is a highly infectious virus that causes 20,000 preventable deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations annually. The seemingly low protection (45%) of last year’s flu vaccine spells uncertainty for most of us when deciding to vaccinate for flu…
The Global Meaning of Hurricanes
This afternoon I delivered a beautiful baby girl. Her grandmother and mother did not cry as much as her father. He literally was sobbing and could not stop. She was their second daughter. Her five years old sister’s photo was by her mother’s bedside, showing a stunningly photogenic girl, a perfect blend between her African…
Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause
Many women experience discomfort in the peri- and post-menopausal period. The complaints vary but may include vaginal dryness and irritation, painful intercourse, lack of sensation with intercourse, leaking of urine, urinary urgency, recurrent urinary and vaginal infections, and even vaginal bleeding. The changes that occur are due to declining estrogen levels and estrogen receptor levels…
Our “Cute” Life: The Things We Leave Behind
My older sister has recently moved to New Zealand. The weeks before she left were so hectic for her and her husband, as they realized they could not bring everything from their house in Fairfax, Virginia, with them. What items would be important to you from the more than twenty years you lived in a…
Tips for the Eclipse
The Great American Solar Eclipse will be darkening our skies on August 21, 2017. The area of totality is in a narrow strip of the country from Oregon to South Carolina, but those of us in other parts of the country will at least see a partial solar eclipse, meaning the moon never quite completely blocks the sun. The last…
Into the Wild…But Know Your Limits!
A few months ago, Dr. Seidelman and her husband went to Peru and wrote a blog about her amazing experience. Since Peru had been on my bucket list for a very long time, I urged my husband to consider going to Peru for our summer vacation. David went hiking and camping in Peru up the entire “old…
A Walk in the Wild: My Adventure with Wilderness Medicine
I dropped out of my girl scout troop in Vietnam at around nine years old. I had barely started the girl scout journey a few weeks before. It was a steamy hot summer day in Saigon, and our troop had to wait in the sun for the President of South Vietnam to visit all the…
Let’s Talk About Racism
I imagine the relatively easy part for most doctors of my generation of baby-boomers is to accept racism as real and persistent. We were never exactly encouraged to share our personal experiences with racism in medical school. My class of 180 students at the Medical College of Georgia had about 30% women and enough African-Americans…