A Note to Nora’s Recess Buddies: I am told by Nora’s nurses, and Mrs. Jackson, that at the start of the school year, a small group of students met with Nora, during recess, to…
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“What is your favorite discovery?’ asked the boy. ‘That I am enough as I am,’ said The Horse” — Charlie Mackesy This essay captures a conversation I had with a psychiatrist the month I…
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July 2019 I reach for a hospital pillow and today’s newspaper: I stare at the headline and recall Nora’s nurse’s reaction from this morning when I read it to her: UCSD GETTING ANOTHER $100M…
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Modern Motherhood Stories of KindnessA Note to My Daughter’s ER Nurse, Who Asked Me: “How Would You Like Me To Address You?”
First you should know, your question left me momentarily stunned. And then, it suddenly made me quite suspicious. Because a nurse (or any medical personnel or professional) asking about a patient’s mother’s name— in…
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When all the world is a hopeless jumble and the raindrops tumble all around. Heaven opens a magic lane. When all the clouds darken up the skyway, there’s a rainbow highway to be found,…
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“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol My Dear Friends, It’s no secret I love Christmas. I listen to Christmas…
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I stare at the sand, inches away from my face and examine bits and pieces of grain sized rocks, seashells and sea glass. I take a deep breath and watch as I let it…
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“Too many women around the world do not have access to essential maternity care, and more than 800 women a day die from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. Almost all global maternal deaths are preventable.” –…
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Stories of KindnessA Note to The Security Guard Who Gave a Peace Sign to The Woman Lacing Up Her Roller Skates
A note to the security guard who gave a peace sign to the woman lacing up her pink roller skates on the fourth level of the medical “EMPLOYEES ONLY” parking garage: First of all,…
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Dear Welly First Aide, I’m a blogger who writes about my family’s day- to- day life with medical complexities. I recently wrote a post titled “The Botched Blood Draw Part One” that led me…
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“Go run out the stress from that blood draw,” Maggie says to me from the couch as I adjust my ponytail, position an ear bud snuggly in one ear and step out the back…
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“I will make everything around me beautiful – that will be my life.” -Elsie de Wolfe My Nora is asleep. Finally, after six days of treatment in this hospital bed – IV antibiotics, oxygen…