By now you may have heard that there will be a shortage of an important vaccine for many months.
Nothing bad has happened. Merck, one of the few remaining manufacturers of vaccines, has for the second time in a year found potential contamination in one of its facilities. There has been no tainted vaccine produced. However, it takes months to assure proper sterile conditions. [...] Continue Reading…
If you’ve read of Cathy and Princess, you might suppose all my memorable professional experiences ended sadly. Hardly!
Today is the birthday of one of my all-time favorite patients who has remained in my life for all but the first of her 42 years.
When I began practice in Van Nuys, I caught a big break. My kids’ pediatrician was a cardiologist who wanted to concentrate solely on his specialty at Childrens Hospital, while I had spent 9 months in Beverly Hills waiting for someone to retire. (In the sick humor of the medical world this is known as “waiting for [...] Continue Reading…
Actually the “E.R.” (Emergency Room) has been supplanted by the “E.D.” (Emergency Department), signifying more than one room, but never enough to hold the swarms of patients therein. I’m told that one fellow, on seeing the crowded waiting room at his local E.D., went home, put on his old Army fatigues, downloaded a badge from the internet, and returned, whereupon 80% of the people left. The badge said “U.S. Border Patrol”. (Warning: this site is not politically correct. If that’s a problem I refer you to the Times {NY or LA – same thing} or CNN).
But seriously, [...] Continue Reading…
Her bedroom was wall-to-wall pink frilly femininity, hundreds of stuffed animals keeping her company. It was suited to a real princess, which in a way she was. After my tour, we sat in the family room and watched videos of “J” winning competition after competition in figure skating. It was 1988 and she was 15, a pretty, brilliant only child, an 89-pound package of grace and skill who seemed sure to make the Olympics. (Think Sasha Cohen). Before that she had been a champion gymnast but “retired” when she discovered skating.
This is the story of “J”, my patient from [...] Continue Reading…
The making of a doctor takes thousands of small steps, but some are unforgettable. Cathy became a monument in my life. My residency in pediatrics occurred in a 2200-bed colossus which included a 9-story building just for kids. The patients were from all over and often had rare diseases. (Professors would often say, “When you hear hoofbeats don’t think of zebras” – but Columbia-Presbyterian was where zebras wound up. In those days we had no CT scans or MRI’s, no transplants and few wonder drugs. We worked 90-hour weeks under military-like pressure.
Cathy was 8 and I was perhaps her [...] Continue Reading…
Boycott Nestlé?
My commitment to breastfeeding is second to none (please refer to my article on the subject) so why would I question the decades-long boycott of the world’s largest formula company?
The outrage that led to the boycott is understandable. Mixing formula with contaminated water is a recipe for disaster. Half a million babies die in a typical year from rotavirus alone; most of those deaths are preventable. Giving new mothers formula samples sends a defeatist message. Even in our rich country, half our mothers qualify for WIC assistance. WIC gives lip service to breastfeeding but undermines it by providing [...] Continue Reading…
Is there a link between MMR vaccination and autism? In a word, NO.
Yet the question is asked constantly by parents. First, some definitions. MMR is measles/mumps/rubella vaccine, given at 12-15 months and again at school entry. The three vaccines have been around since the 60′s and were combined about 30 years ago. Autism is a behavioral disorder first described a generation ago. If severe, it is often suspected in the second year of life when language skills fail to develop and a child doesn’t show appropriate emotional attachments. There is no test to affirm the diagnosis.
Some years ago a [...] Continue Reading…