Blogging Again

Returning Home
Leslie K. Price

It has been nearly a month since I last blogged and for the month prior to that, had found myself with less time to devote to this pursuit than I would like.  In the ebb and flow of life-between the challenges of work, family, and personal needs-somethings rise up and others fall to the back by necessity.  Once the pause happened, I felt that I would only return when I felt I could potentially return to regular entries.  I am hopeful that I now can.  How did I feel when I wasn't immersed in the blogosphere?  I missed the outlet for the "connections" I made while seeing patients and carried on my day to day clinical practice.  I dearly missed writing and the reward that comes from completing a creative endeavor.  I felt I had set aside some good friends, even though these are friends I know only from their writing and their "profiles".  On some levels, I felt unburdened of the "deadlines" I had set for myself for writing and I realized (AGAIN) that the blog is for me-an outlet, a connection- and not an obligation!
So I return.  Hopefully stronger than before, with renewed vigor and interest.  I hope you are still out there reading...

Homecoming-Parenting Again

Zanzibar!

October 14, 2011 my son departed for the African continent.  More than 6 months later, he will soon return and my life will be changed, in ways I cannot yet predict.  Like many young adults, my son needed time to figure out where he wanted to take his life.  Together, we opted for time volunteering in Africa as a way for him to "get away" while giving back something.  His first 3 months were spent building civic projects in the hills of Eastern Ghana.  I know only a little of his time there but he lived with no electricity or running water in a place that was equatorial hot.  He met volunteers from all over the world and seemed to have his eyes opened to many things about himself, being American, and regarding world politics.  It seems work was easy as the Ghanaians are soooo friendly but not sooo hard working. He then traveled east to Tanzania where he lived in finer accommodations but had to struggle to teach English and math to students in an orphanage.  Again he met many people and gained insight into how hard teaching is, the impact of a tourist economy, and the beauty of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Of course, it wasn't all hard work and no play-he did treat himself to a short but impressive (his experience) safari and a week on the spectacular beaches of Zanzibar-a place of which most of us can only dream.
His path home took him through England where he traveled to see family, family-friends, fellow volunteers from Africa and to pay tribute to his deceased grandparents.  During his time there, I know he has been scrubbed clean and obtained some fresh clothes-slowly shedding the layers of Africa from his ski, hair and cloth.  But I suspect even when he stands back on American soil, that Africa will not leave his system so easily.  How this experience will change him, our (and others) relationship, and his dreams and future plans, will only emerge slowly over time.  I will do what I can to support his re-entry but I too have learned things during his time away-I know I can never return to how we co-existed in past years, that I need not completely sacrifice my health and happiness to accommodate an "angry young man".  I know that being a good parent (mother) means more than opening a wallet, preparing a meal, lending the car, or greasing the way.  It is also letting go, allowing them to fall, forcing them to confront, refusing to lower standards, and holding your head high.  Parenting-the hardest work I have ever done and ever expect to do.
Wish me luck!

And Finally Spring

Madison Square Park
May 1, 2011
(Taken by author)

Spring has been slow in coming to NY but last weekend, we had the spectacular combination of warm (but not hot) and sunny to highlight the fast ripening beauty of spring all over NY.  As we approached Madison Square Park, these candy-colored tulips just leapt into our visual pathways and exploded upon retina and occipital lobes.  Finally, the days of black and white are over for the next 6 months.  My garden will soon blossom chives while the hellebores, bleeding hearts, and azaleas brilliant color swatches to the garden canvas.
Sunday was also a special day on an entirely different level-I quietly celebrated my 23rd anniversary with the man who has brought such joy and love to my life. Here's looking at you-for at least another 32!!!

Fingernails and Insurance

She came into my office with the usual complaints-neck and arm pain, back and leg pain.  All started after the car accident more than 10 years ago.  As the story unfolded I took my notes but my attention was drawn to her fingernails.  What struck me was how perfect they looked-luciously long, groomed, and painted.  These were obviously well tended nails-the kind that take an hour to create-with the latest technology for fillers/lengtheners and the like.  I have sat next to women in various nail salons who were receiving such nails and was struck by both the time and cost associated with this-not to mention the frequency of required treatments to maintain.  For some reason, on this patient, these perfect nails struck me in an unpleasant way.
This was a woman who otherwise seemed to care little for herself.  She was sloppily dressed and not only overweight but clearly out of shape and unhealthy.  When she removed her shoes during the examination, her socks were more gray than their original white.  In addition, her history as she related included numerous times when she opted not to have insurance because she didn't want to pay her "portion" or when she opted out of recommended care because she couldn't afford the required co-payments.
Fast forward, and before me sat a woman now with a chronic pain syndrome-out of work for more than 6  years as a result and thus statistically unlikely to EVER return to gainful employment.
And yet her fingernails were perfect...
Hard as I try, I can't put myself in this woman's shoes.  I can't say for sure that she made poor choices about her limited funds.  It may be that the only thing she does for a "treat" just for herself is her nails.  Perhaps even this was a first-a special occasion and not something done regularly.  Undoubtedly there are many possibilities that perhaps I can't even imagine.
I just know I was struck by the dichotomy-the willingness to devote significant amounts of resources to her hands while neglecting a whole spectrum of healthy living activities, some of which require little or no money at all.  It did raise the question in my mind about the balance between societal and personal responsibility, especially when it comes to health and utilization of those precious resources.  In the coming years, perhaps these questions will be an increasing component of the discussions about health care insurance, Medicare, and reform.

Black and White and Yellow

It is like they took a black and white photo

And someone had just one paintbrush

And began to touch it all up with

The color yellow.

As I drive along the road

My eye is invariably drawn

To these audacious highlights

Signaling spring.

The wind still howls on many days

The rain can lash cold against the face

But nights draw longer inexorably

Seasons change.

Why yellow in all that is touched?

Whether sun-stroked bush

Or multitudinous erupting bulbs

April's color.

Yellow, breathing life back into

The slumbering world of black and white

Assaults the eyes and senses

Brings a smile.

Just Two

Brilliant purple they stand alone

Two welcome beacons of

Warmth, light and color

That will soon infuse the day

Saffron threads peek out

From beneath regal robes

Huddled close to ground

Beneath still barren trunk

Oh, how just two

Can raise my smile

Cause heart to swell

Lift shackles of winter.

The Apple Doesn't Fall...

As a woman neurosurgeon, I wear the simultaneous hats of surgeon, mother and wife (along with chef, businessperson, volunteer, leader...) so I am thrilled to announce that my daughter has started her own blog called College Kitchen.  Even if you are well beyond college, she has a great insight into cooking healthy, fast and inexpensive meals-just what every college kids needs but also what so many of us that juggle hectic lives need too.
It will be very interesting for me to watch her evolution as a blogger.  I have already shared with her the few "tricks" I have learned during my time in the blogosphere but more importantly, I have shared with her how my own blogging has transformed the way I think about each day and each encounter.  I wonder if it will have the same impact for her.  Perhaps her blog will catapult her to fame and fortune-like Julia (and Julia), maybe it will help others learn how easy it is to prepare fast but healthy food, perchance she may gain insight into a new part of herself or her future...all I know as  mother is that I am so proud of her, and specifically tickled that she now also has a blogspot address.