Death and Taxes

There are alot of guidelines and "rules" these days in pediatrics..so much so that I'm often annoyed by them as my more type A counterparts stick to them with a facist zeal.  Some are for good reasons like keeping a child on it's back during sleep (because there is an increased incidence of SIDS - sudden infant death syndrome - if left to sleep the other way)  and others are much like the ever increasing list of "don't"s that constitute modern law (ie. NO!... it is not ok to feed you child an all water diet).  As I read an article that pointed out how "ungoverned" and "unsafe" the children of the previous generations were and how they survived dispite lead paint, despite tummy time...during sleep time, and even in some cases despite a lack of seat belts I found myself rumminating on this subject.  Like most answers to complex and controversial subjects the truth is often not black or white but a very fine gray, these guidelines are here to help save lives, but life itself requires a fair amount of chance, fate, luck and/or the hand of God, whatever you call it there is more to surviving than simply following guidelines.  Just as life will find a way to survive, if you are "meant" to die, I do believe, death will surely find a way...uhhh...to kill you ;-P despite the unending spools of guidelines we churn out year after year in an attempt to wall it off from our children (still though, you can't blame us for trying).

Newbie Doc

My Little Teacher

I'm on vacation, but it doesn't feel like vacation.  Our son is over 2 weeks old now, but the moment of his birth only seems seconds ago.  What a life changing experience parenthood is, what an amazing change Bode has brought on our lives.  It's a change that's both wonderful and terrible at the same time.  When he has even the tiniest smile, I laugh and my heart swells and when he cries, it breaks. 

Although I'd tried to prepare myself for how it would change our lives, my assumptions were neive at best.  He's changing the way I view my patients and I'm finding new empathy where before I had only cold reason and logic.  For the doctor who is supposed to know everything about kids, I'm getting yet another lesson in all that I don't know.

In returning from vacation, my patients will find a new doctor has taken my place.  A doctor who understands them much better, who can relate to a child keeping them up all night for weeks on end.  A doctor who has seen first hand the pathetic amount of comfort medicine's "supportive" advice can sometimes yield.  A doctor who has been there. 

Bode can't even talk, yet he's already taught me so much about life, love, and even medicine...there's so much more to write, but I'm so tired I think more would be less at this point.  We are immeasurably blessed with this new addition to our family. 

Newbie Doc