It seems to be a season of dying. It’s probably my age—almost 60—and the age of many of my friends. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that mortality is in the air.
It’s not that I haven’t experienced death before. My father at 69, my old friend Sigrid at 36, my sister-in-law at 40. Cancer got them all. Now cancer is getting my good friend Marilyn.
Marilyn has late stage ovarian cancer. She just turned 60. She had two rounds of chemotherapy, and the doctors thought they had things at bay. But the cancer came back fiercely. There is no more treatment for her; just digging in at home with the comfort of friends, the right pain meds and medical marijuana. Palliative care. Read the rest of this entry »
Pregnancy can be one of a woman’s most beautiful life experiences; an event many have dreamed of since girlhood. Hormones surge, creating a sense of euphoria (as well as occasional nausea). The awareness slowly arises of a real human being, her child, growing inside of her.Read the rest of this entry »
The objects with which we surround ourselves serve multiple functions. On the one hand they may be utilitarian: dressers, chairs, and desks that support our home and work lives. At the same time, they tell us and others who we are. Does our home or office convey sophistication (elegant furniture), intelligence (books) or artiness (paintings and sculpture)? Are we practical (sparely furnished rooms) or frivolous (surrounded by knick-knacks)?
These objects can also convey status and authority. A king’s throne, for example, sits squarely in the middle of the reception hall. It is likely the most ornately carved piece of furniture in the room and is placed on a platform, denoting power and proximity to God. Or take in contrast the simple stool, without frills, designating its user as a worker focused on completing a singular task.
Both “chairs” serve a function and tell a story. Like that king and those workers, we create our worlds with purpose.Read the rest of this entry »
The utility of sit/stand desks is finally hitting the mainstream. Here is a Channel 7 segment that was on “Seven On Your Side” with Michael Finney. I am featured:)
Feel free to make comments or get in touch with me with any questions about the revolution taking place in the field of work site ergonomics.
The Ebola epidemic is still raging through West Africa. Thousands are dead, including many health care workers who bravely fought the disease on the front lines.
There is an urgent demand to develop the medicines needed to defeat Ebola. Experimental drugs are being rushed to field hospitals. While it is projected that large batches of drugs should arrive by January, many thousands will by then be dead–and tens of thousands will likely be infected.
Much has already been written about why the world was caught “off guard” when the Ebola epidemic struck despite warnings by infectious disease experts. We have a highly sophisticated pharmaceutical industry (Big Pharma) that produces a steady stream of “miracle” drugs. But what drives the research and development of these ubiquitous medicines is singular: profit.Read the rest of this entry »
In a health care environment marked by raging turf battles that pit one profession against another, positive change will require—as a start–introspection and self-criticism by providers from different disciplines.
I am trained as a chiropractor, and have practiced my craft for almost 30 years. But the dominance of the allopathic medical profession has forced me to work in isolation. Chiropractors have been excluded from hospitals, marginalized by insurance companies, and subjected to ridicule by the American Medical Associations PR wing.(1)
To survive, we have upheld a holistic philosophy and championed effective treatment. As a result, chiropractic has become the most powerful and popular of the “alternative” modalities. At the same time, the pressure to work on our own in solo practices has tended to separate us from practitioners in the other healing arts. Read the rest of this entry »
Discussions about health care reform tend to focus on payment methods. Critics assert that insurance companies (in concert with pharmaceutical companies and hospitals) are the primary causes of runaway costs. While there is a relationship between payment methods and quality of care, too much time has been spent on the former part of the equation. To reform the American health care system we must begin our analysis by looking more deeply into how care is delivered. Read the rest of this entry »