Whose Truth?
I started off this morning dreading an MRI on my back. A few years ago in a period of excruciating pain I finally went to the back doctor to see what in the world was going on. The x-rays showed a possible stress fracture among other issues with a disc. He sent me to have an MRI to confirm. It was indeed he felt, a stress fracture. In our “Life with Autism & Seizures” I can’t imagine how…
A Rose Is a Rose. But What About a Vaccine?
“A rose is a rose is a rose,” said Gertrude Stein, but is a vaccine always a vaccine? Traditionally, the medical definition of the word vaccine has been, “Injection of a killed microbe in order to stimulate the immune system against the microbe, thereby preventing disease.”
Anecdotes Define the Possible, Statistics Define the Norm
What is is. What happens happens. There is no way to deny truth. An anecdote is a story. A true story. For example, “My child was healthy. We took them to the doctor for shots. On the way from the clinic to the car in the parking lot my child had a seizure. That night they had a high…
So What About the Other Pregnant Honduran Woman Who Didn’t Have Zika?
A 31-year old pregnant woman from Honduras arrives in the United States for a vacation and a month later gives birth by cesarian section to a premature baby diagnosed with severe microcephaly. The birth occurs at the Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. The woman tests positive for the Zika virus. Naturally, this quickly becomes a headline news story covered by nearly every major newspaper, magazine, news wire service, and…
Many Doctors Vaccinate Out of Fear
I feel sorry for many doctors. I really do. It must be a terrible thing to live and work in fear. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about the fear of making a mistake and harming your patient, as in the following observation by Danielle Ofri, MD: “Every doctor can tell you of times when she or he was terrified; most can list more episodes than you might wish to hear.
The Paradox of Hospital Food
A few months ago, I visited a cancer patient at a reputable hospital—an experience that completely altered my perspective on our “healthcare” system. Hippocrates, also known as the “Father of Western Medicine” once said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine thy food.”