I spoke up for mandatory masking by-laws in Halton. Here’s why…
#COVID-19: The human cost of the pandemic
I saw an elderly man, blue plaid shirt, his hair a white cloud around his head, standing outside an emergency department, his hand on the window, watching his wife, frail, coughing, waiting for masked healthcare workers to take her through triage. He saw me dressed in black scrubs, mask, goggles — and assumed I was someone who knew.
“Is this the last time I’ll see her?”
#COVID-19: Lucky
Ten years later, a letter to myself
Dear Nadia,
Congratulations! You’ve graduated. As you stand, reciting the Hippocratic Oath, I must tell you: you have no idea the world you have just entered.
Medical school, the toughest thing you’ve accomplished till now, will be a piece of cake by the time you’re done.
Mom and Dad sacrificed a lot to bring you to Canada. So you will work hard, learn more, reach further, live larger to make it all worthwhile. Because even if life isn’t always fair, Mom and Dad taught you: a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work can still go a long way…
#COVID19: "I want to die looking at the sky."
We go in. Late afternoon sunlight slants through the window. Cotton-ball clouds against a blue, blue sky. Mr. X’s face is turned towards the light. His hoarse breathing, the only sound in the room. He sits, shoulders slumped, huffing and puffing away. His white hair tangled. He looks small. Alone.
He turns towards me, his eyes hopeful.
My heart sinks. With his age, his other complex illnesses, his frailty, his physical exam, Mr. X doesn’t look like an easy intubation. Worse, he faces a high risk of death on the ventilator….
#COVID19: Our generation's war
I find myself wondering, “Are we ready for what’s coming?”
Covid19 is the greatest threat that physicians of this generation are facing. It’s faster and deadlier than the flu. There are 206 countries around the world. This disease began in December 2019 and within 3 months later, the virus spread to nearly all countries. Many health systems have been overwhelmed.
#COVID19: Not an excuse for racism
My son and his friend were stopped one day by some kids who wanted to “test” them for Coronavirus because they were Chinese.
A few restaurants in downtown Toronto are now refusing to serve people who look Chinese. Across Ontario, comments are now made to kids who look Chinese that they should stop eating bats, that they are somehow dirty and should be quarantined. In Australia, patients will no longer shake the hands of a Chinese doctor.
This is racism triggered by fear of the coronavirus epidemic.
Looking back at my President year
For those who don’t know, the OMA is the voice for all 41,000 physicians across Ontario. Being OMA President was unlike anything I had ever done before. I had held leadership positions before, but nothing, nothing of this scale and magnitude.
My year as the OMA President was the year I dared greatly. The year I learned to take a leap of faith. To fail and rise up. To serve my vision, to serve others.
#VaccinesWork: A matter of life and death
A 7 week old baby nearly died in Brantford from whooping cough. Whooping cough is an avoidable illness. This little girl was just one week shy of her first round of immunizations.
If enough people had been vaccinated, she probably wouldn’t have gotten sick in the first place.
The internet and social media have democratized information in an extraordinary way. The downside to this has been the spread of misinformation, largely because posting on the internet does not require vetting or authorization or proof. This misinformation has led to many parents questioning the need for and the evidence behind vaccines.
Here are some facts…
Doctor's Day 2019: Humanity and change.
Disruption is the latest buzzword, but the fundamental meaning is the same: change. Everywhere you look across Ontario, the country or even around the world, there is growing pressure to transform health care — how it’s funded, how it’s delivered, how it’s even conceived.
Medicine, a profession thousands of years old, is under pressure to change.
Yet.
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.