Bedside Manner

On this last day of 2008 I wish every Doctor and professor of medicine would read this entry.I hope you have had the opportunity to see and hear "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, if not go directly to the book store and buy it!Open to page 62-63 and there in lies the secret to life and to being not only the best person but the best physician that you can be. Medicine as life has too many rules , barriers and hurdles but Dr. Pausch put it very clearly on the page. His entry defines hope, the moment at hand ,our loved ones and what is most important. In reading these brief pages I feel like Confuscius has entered the room because he has clearly stated what being a good physician is all about. Present and future is all we have , lets move forward with grace and the eyes of  a 5 year old clear and wondering!

RING

One night late I received the worst of calls a patient post heart surgery had a cardiac arrest, as I flew out the door - no socks, half awake,and desperately worried about my patient I tried to wake up. I live 6 miles from the hospital and we have no residents just great nurses, who by the way in my world were Doctors with different initials after their name. You wonder if the Doctor speeds , oh yeah and red lights we are all color blind to those. I arrive in the darkness and do my best superman impersonation trying as hard as I might to undress and put on surgeons scrubs as my nurses bring the patient to the elevator. I take off my wedding ring and clothes and meet them there as the doors close .I open up my patient right there and start cardiac massage and proceed to the operating room where a team of  people as bleary eyed as I jump to their tasks, over the next 30 minutes we bring this person back to life.  As any surgeon knows if the kidneys are working so is the brain but thats another story! I thank my folks and go out to speak to a family who are dazed and scared and whose eyes hinge on your every word and tell them Dad is ok!  Talk about highs and lows I sit down to take a few minutes to rest only to realize I have lost my wedding ring, it doesn't seem very important next to a human life.My quick hunt is useless and as I come off the elevator a wonderful policeman looks at me and says is this ring yours Doc? I found it in the crack at the bottom of the elevator door! I thanked the lovely lady and as I headed home my thoughts came full circle so to speak, as I crawled into bed my wife asked if everything was fine for the person I went to help and there and than I realized what that ring represents, LIFE!  TIP OF THE DAY: Secret to any success , marry your best friend!

KIDS

Have you followed the cuts in city and state funding. I get it but the one thing we have to support is education. I believe in the kids it is our present and unending hope for the future. Without it we will be mired in the 14 th century of our generation. Whatever we do never give up as Jimmy V. once said, I am totally fed up with politicians and their solutions look at Illinois.Are you inspired by the auto makers leadership or the banks or for that matter !Our role models the professional athlete! These are the people our kids are seeing on the news, the internet, talk shows and the like. You want to know who gets it ? Bill Cosby, thats who, he understands we need leaders white, black whatever color for our kids. Try everyday,every way to influence our youth and help a child . The older I get the more I respect a great teacher not a great athlete !  TIP OF THE DAY:  Eat with your kids and you might just learn something good, I do every day!! Trust and love.

UGLY

Today is the day Ugly died, you might think this is about plastic surgery but it is not. Remember that old rug or warm blanket or the blankie you had as a kid with the satin edge , thats Ugly. Those times with the fire going , coffee smells in the air, sweet rolls in the kitchen , thats Ugly! The smell of cut grass, horses in the pasture, dew on the grass and an ol bathrobe thats Ugly! Well ole Yeller had nothing on Ugly an old eastern North Carolina dog who could bark with the best of them and scare that UPS guy right out of his truck. Ugly went to be with   Yeller this weekend and in passing after 20+ years brought tears to my eyes, is this not what Thanksgiving is all about a life well lived and appreciated. The Movie Doc     TIP OF THE DAY: Take time to view your world thru the eyes of a pet, bet you just smiled!