This post is going to be very grim. I hope you will take it as useful information and food for thought. Despite the call for more ventilators, these breathing machines are not a panacea for elderly patients. As Coronavirus sweeps the country, and as governors beg for federal assistance, the reality of mechanical ventilation for […]
Dear loyal reader, It has been months since I last offered you a musing on medicine. Although dormant, I have not been stagnant. During those months, I have been thinking about my next writing project and here it is. Drum roll, please… “Redefining Medical Futility.” Although the through lines of At Peace; Choosing a Good […]
I can admire celebrities who are willing to be open about their illnesses because it brings important discussions to the fore and offers multiple teaching opportunities. But we need to change the discussion involving advanced cancer from the usual plan to beat the illness to something more nuanced. The most recent example of this is […]
It seems that 2018 was my year to discuss immortality with a host of people – and if not immortality, the expectation of living to be 120 years old. The issues came up in routine conversations and in my multiple book talks, Q&As, and interviews for radio and podcasts. I doubt if 2019 will be […]
The year of AT PEACE is coming to a close. For those of you who hope this means I will be changing my email signature promoting my book – think again. No, it means that I will not be scheduling small group talks at churches, libraries and senior living centers. I will be open to […]
Debbie and I recently devoured the audio version of this summer’s hottest read: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by Pulitzer Prize-winning Wall Street Journal reporter John Carryrou. It’s a mesmerizing business thriller about the rise and fall of blood-testing startup Theranos, a Silicon Valley unicorn with a one-time value of […]
Sorry for the radio silence since publication day on Feb. 6, 2018 of At Peace: Choosing a Good Death After a Long Life. I’ve been on my “book tour” (please note the small letters and quotation marks). This was not a Book Tour with red carpets, black limos, personal assistants, and the exchange of pleasantries […]
* Add your review to Sam’s Amazon book page! – Debbie * Sometimes you have to go for it, as my youngest grandchild is doing with his first birthday cake. His oldest sister verbalized her baby brother’s thoughts as he reached for the remaining cake: “Hmm… this looks promising.” Today is pub date for my book, […]
When I was a practicing physician, there was nothing more meaningful or rewarding than a middle-of-the-night emergency endoscopy, usually completed successfully (although occasionally not), when a patient’s esophagus was cleared of obstructing food or a bleeding ulcer was clipped and cauterized. The tension of the scene would dissipate with the team’s collective sigh of relief […]
As I wait for the publication date (Feb. 6, 2018) to arrive, my mind is playing tricks on me. I wake up at night, asking myself if I have made one of several central points in my book. In the morning, I remember I have. Other books on end-of-life issues are popping up or recently […]
