Report of 26 April 2007
Hello from the St. Vincent Hospital library -
It has been a somewhat hectic, but very fulfilling couple of weeks. The last blog was after I'd spoken at Pediatrics Grand Rounds at my alma mater, the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. I was nervous about speaking to a pedi crowd, but was reassured by Dr. Gong (in charge of Grand Rounds) that speaking of my experience working w/ the destitute was fine, and I had a fine time doing so; there were some good questions afterwards, and questions about where to donate - which is always great for the Banyan.
I then went to lunch w/ Drs. Ramamurthy (if any of you watch "Heroes," she is Sendhil Ramamurthy's mother) and Koli, and that set off an entire weekend of being wined and dined. Dinner w/ Richard Luduena and friend, Melanie; a trip to Austin the next day w/ Richard to see my friend, Doug, which we were not successful at but had a great trip nonetheless; dinner w/ our kids' former pediatrician, Mary George, and friends; breakfast w/ Linda and Richard Luduena and their daughter, Sara; lunch w/ ex-neighbors Aurora and Scott Freeman and family (who loaded me w/ clothes for my niece); dinner w/ Linda and Dave Johnson; breakfast w/ Dorothy and Vick Williams. It was great fun, and good to eat American food! I spoke again at a talk sponsored by Dr. Abraham Verghese's office in San Antonio, and was privileged to have Drs. Forland, Holt and Linda Johnson (all faculty) in the audience. That night, I went to dinner w/ Tom Mayes and his wife, Minnette Son, which was enjoyable.
On Tuesday, 17 April, I left for San Diego and stayed w/ my friend Cindy Scherr's mother, Mary, while I attended the conference of the American College of Physicians. The conf was excellent, as always, and I got a lot out of it. I was very happy to see a great friend from med school, Rob Hansen, and he took me out to lunch which was a blast. It was also nice to meet several staff of the ACP, all of whom seemed interested in the work I do. The stay w/ Mary Scherr was very pleasant, and one night we got together for dinner w/ her friends, which was a wonderful time of female solidarity and humor.
My childhood friend, Carol Dixon, flew me out to Portland and we met for about a day and a half. It was great to see her again, and hang out w/ her and her kids, Sean and Rachel. One of the perks here is raiding her closet, so in addition to new clothes that Carol bought for me, I have a whole new wardrobe. Rachel also parted w/ some clothes for my niece, which was very thoughtful. I returned loaded, and was picked up by a friend from St. Luke's United Methodist Church, Scott Semester, and had dinner w/ him and Pastor Carolyn Scanlan-Craighead and her husband, Will, who had just returned from Florida. That was a fun time, and then I went to the home of Marybeth and Andrew Simon the next day; the Simons are hospitality incarnate, and their daughters are a treat.
It has been the greatest of privileges to round w/ Dr. Robert Love this week. He has been kind enough to accommodate me, and is a brilliant clinician, and I am enjoying the experience.
A couple of disappointments en route w/ funding, but nothing unmanageable; my patients have so much more to deal with. I got lovely notes from Scott, and 1 from Naren, and thought to myself that if I had a lot of money and a lousy family, that would not be an enviable position; much nicer to have a robustly supportive husband w/ a great sense of humor and 2 compassionate sons, and little money. Today, I heard that the medical journals that have been donated by Dr. Love and shipped to me for 4 years would no longer be sent to me unless "voluntary" donations come up for the shipping expense (about $10-$12 per quarter), and I must confess to being disappointed: I lie in wait for said journals, as do other docs who get 'em after I read 'em. The reasons behind this move are not at all clear to me (there have been personnel changes at the office that does the mailing, in this multi-million dollar hospital) and I wandered around in a bit of a confused haze and did some soul-searching. Overall, though, this much is clear: it is wonderful to know clearly who will help (in any way, possible, and to what extent) and who will not, in my hopefully lifelong work w/ the destitute. It puts my hefty sense of optimism pointed in the right direction.
I had dinner w/ Deepali and Junior Jani, their sons Anil and Ajay, last night, and it was a wonderful time, full of warmth and bonhomie. It was a great pleasure today to run into Tamela Horkay and Boni Hypes (we will have dinner tonight, along w/ Ruth Ranalletta). It was also a special treat to see Kurt Broderick, who is a tried and true friend; Kurt is a pharmacist at St. V and has a most infectious laugh, which I particularly appreciated and enjoyed today.
Well, as you can see, my riches outweigh my liabilities. May you also be in this enviable position.
Oh, I heard today about some flap involving Richard Gere kissing an actress in India. I haven't seen the information, but please rest assured that Richard has the utmost respect for India and our culture, as well as our women. He is an extraordinarily down-to-earth and wonderful human being, as are his brother and brother's partner.
"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give." - attributed to W. Churchill
Unw -
R
It has been a somewhat hectic, but very fulfilling couple of weeks. The last blog was after I'd spoken at Pediatrics Grand Rounds at my alma mater, the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. I was nervous about speaking to a pedi crowd, but was reassured by Dr. Gong (in charge of Grand Rounds) that speaking of my experience working w/ the destitute was fine, and I had a fine time doing so; there were some good questions afterwards, and questions about where to donate - which is always great for the Banyan.
I then went to lunch w/ Drs. Ramamurthy (if any of you watch "Heroes," she is Sendhil Ramamurthy's mother) and Koli, and that set off an entire weekend of being wined and dined. Dinner w/ Richard Luduena and friend, Melanie; a trip to Austin the next day w/ Richard to see my friend, Doug, which we were not successful at but had a great trip nonetheless; dinner w/ our kids' former pediatrician, Mary George, and friends; breakfast w/ Linda and Richard Luduena and their daughter, Sara; lunch w/ ex-neighbors Aurora and Scott Freeman and family (who loaded me w/ clothes for my niece); dinner w/ Linda and Dave Johnson; breakfast w/ Dorothy and Vick Williams. It was great fun, and good to eat American food! I spoke again at a talk sponsored by Dr. Abraham Verghese's office in San Antonio, and was privileged to have Drs. Forland, Holt and Linda Johnson (all faculty) in the audience. That night, I went to dinner w/ Tom Mayes and his wife, Minnette Son, which was enjoyable.
On Tuesday, 17 April, I left for San Diego and stayed w/ my friend Cindy Scherr's mother, Mary, while I attended the conference of the American College of Physicians. The conf was excellent, as always, and I got a lot out of it. I was very happy to see a great friend from med school, Rob Hansen, and he took me out to lunch which was a blast. It was also nice to meet several staff of the ACP, all of whom seemed interested in the work I do. The stay w/ Mary Scherr was very pleasant, and one night we got together for dinner w/ her friends, which was a wonderful time of female solidarity and humor.
My childhood friend, Carol Dixon, flew me out to Portland and we met for about a day and a half. It was great to see her again, and hang out w/ her and her kids, Sean and Rachel. One of the perks here is raiding her closet, so in addition to new clothes that Carol bought for me, I have a whole new wardrobe. Rachel also parted w/ some clothes for my niece, which was very thoughtful. I returned loaded, and was picked up by a friend from St. Luke's United Methodist Church, Scott Semester, and had dinner w/ him and Pastor Carolyn Scanlan-Craighead and her husband, Will, who had just returned from Florida. That was a fun time, and then I went to the home of Marybeth and Andrew Simon the next day; the Simons are hospitality incarnate, and their daughters are a treat.
It has been the greatest of privileges to round w/ Dr. Robert Love this week. He has been kind enough to accommodate me, and is a brilliant clinician, and I am enjoying the experience.
A couple of disappointments en route w/ funding, but nothing unmanageable; my patients have so much more to deal with. I got lovely notes from Scott, and 1 from Naren, and thought to myself that if I had a lot of money and a lousy family, that would not be an enviable position; much nicer to have a robustly supportive husband w/ a great sense of humor and 2 compassionate sons, and little money. Today, I heard that the medical journals that have been donated by Dr. Love and shipped to me for 4 years would no longer be sent to me unless "voluntary" donations come up for the shipping expense (about $10-$12 per quarter), and I must confess to being disappointed: I lie in wait for said journals, as do other docs who get 'em after I read 'em. The reasons behind this move are not at all clear to me (there have been personnel changes at the office that does the mailing, in this multi-million dollar hospital) and I wandered around in a bit of a confused haze and did some soul-searching. Overall, though, this much is clear: it is wonderful to know clearly who will help (in any way, possible, and to what extent) and who will not, in my hopefully lifelong work w/ the destitute. It puts my hefty sense of optimism pointed in the right direction.
I had dinner w/ Deepali and Junior Jani, their sons Anil and Ajay, last night, and it was a wonderful time, full of warmth and bonhomie. It was a great pleasure today to run into Tamela Horkay and Boni Hypes (we will have dinner tonight, along w/ Ruth Ranalletta). It was also a special treat to see Kurt Broderick, who is a tried and true friend; Kurt is a pharmacist at St. V and has a most infectious laugh, which I particularly appreciated and enjoyed today.
Well, as you can see, my riches outweigh my liabilities. May you also be in this enviable position.
Oh, I heard today about some flap involving Richard Gere kissing an actress in India. I haven't seen the information, but please rest assured that Richard has the utmost respect for India and our culture, as well as our women. He is an extraordinarily down-to-earth and wonderful human being, as are his brother and brother's partner.
"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give." - attributed to W. Churchill
Unw -
R
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