March 2020. Administrators informed us that primary care physicians would be deployed to the “front lines” – either the emergency department or the COVID-19 wards. When I shared my news with my 21-year-old daughter, she cried and hugged me and said, “I don’t want you to die.”
Fate intervened, and I didn’t get deployed. By the time I was up, the numbers improved, and it was time to return to my …
Mr. O was my new patient but had been known to our practice for several years. He was 74 years old. He had been complaining of “dizziness” for some time. He came in for his visit accompanied by his home health aide. He was born in the Dominican Republic, and he spoke Spanish with limited English proficiency. I scanned his former notes and saw that his aide typically provided translation. …
Recently, I listened with interest to an interview on NPR that posed the question of who needs long-term-care (LTC) insurance. Only one percent of Americans own LTC insurance which defrays the cost of custodial care.
Because of recent experiences I’ve had with my mother, I’ve have been thinking about how I’d like to spend the rest of my life when or if (I admit to fits of denial) the time comes …
I have participated in two transitions in care with my mother. The first was when she was released from the hospital after undergoing neurosurgery for a malignant brain tumor. Immediately after surgery of her brain tumor, she went through two weeks of intensive physical, occupational, and speech therapy. At the end of this period, the recommendation was clear. She required around the clock supervision. The plan was to send her …
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