Years ago, for a writing class assignment, I began a list to tell a story. My list was modeled after Sei Shonogun’s list “Hateful Things” from her tenth-century classic The Pillow Book. She listed everything she hated about being a lady-in-waiting to the Japanese empress circa 966-1017. I listed everything I hated about working as…
Recently I completed a citizenship exam exemption form for an Iraqi patient. She was shattered. Completely shattered. Unable to clean or cook, shop or bank. Lost in time and place. What city did she live in? America. What season is it? Summer, as snow fell outside. Her husband had given up his job to care…
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end—Seneca Today, I am starting something new (and as I write that, I break into a big grin). Committing to sharing with others through my writing what I have learned and am learning about optimizing health on all levels, starting with myself, and working outwards. This is…
This has been a time of transitions. New baby new home new job. New possibilities for life. New take on how to support life. After eight years with the Chicago Family Health Center and teaching students at University of Chicago, my first roles as a physician out of residency, I took on a new challenge…
These haikus are from the seven students on the Summer Service Partnership’s Team South Chicago. A medical student, social work student and undergraduate from the University of Chicago partner with four high school students from Chicago’s South Sude to learn about the social determinants of health, volunteer with community organizations, and develop a health service…
Recently I completed the Commonwealth Fund’s 2015 International Survey of Primary Care Doctors. They wanted to know what I thought about our health system, if fundamentally it worked or needed to be better. They asked questions about my satisfaction with practicing medicine, the quality of care my patients receive, and my experiences with electronic medical records.…
On April 15, 2015—the hundredth anniversary of the Armenian genocide-I found myself on an airplane flying from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Chicago, Illinois, seated next to a gently talkative senior black man who shared my appreciation for the views out the window. A turbulent take off started us off on swapping stories—the death grip on…
“What brings you in today?” I asked my new patient, a healthy appearing clean cut thirty five year old married man with kids. “Check me out, doc.” (STD check? chronic disease screen?) “My brother was just diagnosed with diabetes, I want to make sure I’m okay.” (okay, easy—sugar and cholesterol check) No prior medical problems for him.…
She worked for the city, and was grateful to have a job. She hadn’t worked for a while, and life was hard. You can’t pay bills when you have no money. Her job: booting cars. Tracking down the cars who hadn’t paid parking tickets or speeding tickets to the city. Adding a yellow boot lock…
She was born in the neighborhood, and grew up in the neighborhood. She raised her children in the neighborhood. Her family and friends are in the neighborhood. She still gets medical care in the neighborhood. But she no longer lives in the neighborhood. Not after she was shoved to the ground and raped at gunpoint in the alleyway…
I love how deep breathing calms the soul. Physical actions and mental/emotional well-being are so closely linked. I am grateful that YogaCare brings the healing benefits of yoga to my patients at Chicago Family Health Center. And now it is reaching more people through television! On Monday, YogaCare spread its impact with a short segment…
Prevention Not Prescription 