Month: April 2016

Speaking about choices-we are called upon to make so many choices every day. Some are big and others small.  However, there are some choices that we can make all the time.  Like the decision to be grateful.  No matter what our circumstances, we can always choose to be grateful for the abundance of wonderful things that we have in our lives. We can always give thanks for our families, friends, home, food, health, clothes, cars-for our very lives and people that we are.

I recently treated a patient who came to the Emergency Room with symptoms that he had never had, and they were concerning to him and his family.  After his evaluation, I was explaining his diagnosis when he said something that resonated with me.  “Well, maybe this is a blessing in disguise,” was a remark that gave me pause for a moment.  He was thankful that he had symptoms that brought him to medical attention early-possibly averting a catastrophic event in the future.

Looking for something to be grateful for is a powerful choice that can have a profoundly positive impact.

Yes, things can change.  Our individual and collective health can be better. And it all comes down to just one thing-our individual choices.  Sounds simple, yet it is magnificently powerful. I’ve read it over and over again and have seen it at work many times in my own life.  The choices we make every day will impact our lives.  And I’m not speaking about major life decisions, but rather the small seemingly unimportant choices that we make many times over throughout the course of each day.

These will affect every aspect of our lives-our relationships, finances, careers, and health. And depending on the choices made, over time the impact will be either positive or negative.  May we choose to make good choices.

I know there IS more.  I know it CAN be better. I’ve seen so much during my years as an Emergency Medicine physician.  As ER doctors, PAs, nurses and techs, we help the sick and injured. We save lives.  We help the worried well.  It can be so rewarding. It can also be sad.

The biggest part of “sad” is when you can’t help people, no matter how hard you try.  I do understand that matters are ultimately in God’s hands. For me, another part of “sad” is when I see so many people who are suffering from illnesses such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke and emphysema. These people often have long medication lists and many times are relatively young. What I find to be so unfortunate is that many times this does not have to be so. Is this really true quality of life?  Can we do anything to make it better?  I KNOW WE CAN.