Finding the ordinary among the extraordinary
Hi, Healthy Matters friends!
I have been steadily moving toward more writing in my career and specifically I’ve been working in an area called “narrative non-fiction.” My writings are mostly based on medicine, health and wellness. Big surprise there – sort of like what I do on this blog. I hope to collect them into a book at some point if I get any good at it.
A venue for publishing narrative non-fiction in the medical field is an online journal called Intima and I had an essay posted there in April. It was called “Don’t worry, at least we will die together!” and it was about my experience with medical students in Jerusalem. If you missed it, you can access the piece in this blog post below.
The editors encourage writers to interact with other writers on the site, and so I wrote a very short post in response to an essay by Margot Hedlin, a newly minted doctor whom I have never met. Her essay was called, “There’s a limit to your love” and it was really thought-provoking. She’s a terrific writer and she masterfully got me thinking about the mundane and the not-so-mundane parts of medicine.
My response to Dr. Hedlin’s piece has now been published in Intima. It is called “Finding the ordinary among the extraordinary.” It has my musings about the need to sometimes find normalcy even in utterly abnormal situations. Like medicine.
I encourage you to read Dr. Hedlin’s piece first in the “Field Notes” section, then my short response in the “Crossroads” section. Maybe as a trio these pieces will pull together some themes that resonate with you.
Here are quick links to these three pieces:
- “Don’t worry, at least we will die together!” by David Hilden.
- “There’s a limit to your love” by Margot Hedlin.
- “Finding the ordinary among the extraordinary” by David Hilden.
I’d love to foster dialogue, so please feel free to share these pieces on Facebook, e-mail, Twitter, or wherever you spend your social media time. Or simply share this MyHealthyMatters blog post and let people do their own clicking! (Buttons to share are at the top and bottom of every post I do).
And the editors at Intima encourage a wider conversation, so maybe you could leave a comment on the site with your reaction to any of these pieces.
For the main Intima site, click the logo here:
Happy reading and happy contemplation!
David
Can you exercise your way to a lower weight?
Hey friends! Back in April I had just returned from “doctor college” in San Diego and I intend to share bits of what I learned there. Previous posts in this vein have been:
- Should you trust the latest “medical advance”? And koalas too! This is an overview of my approach to medical science.
- C. difficile infection will gross you out. A bit about a yucky intestinal bug.
- Special topics: Lyme Disease. The one in which I wade into the Lyme disease quagmire, ticks and all.
This post is about exercise and weight loss. Specifically: Is exercise an effective way to lose weight?
Hmmm . . . . donuts.
Anybody else have a somewhat idle piece of exercise equipment in your house? The picture at the top of this post is my actual basement treadmill. On the plus side, it is a terrific place to hang shirts while ironing. On the negative side, I’m delinquent in my ironing duties.
It is a pretty rare bird indeed who doesn’t sometimes want to lose some weight. I’m in this group. Although I’m a rather skinny, lanky guy – I do have that bit of a gut that hangs out more than I’d like. And I’m a runner, at least much of the time, so I’m thinking . . . WHAT GIVES? How can I exercise as much as I do and still have weight in places I don’t want it?
I have been told it is not a dearth of exercise that is leading to a big belly, but it is an abundance of donuts.
And who am I kidding, if there is anything that ought to be in abundance, it’s donuts, I say. read more…
10 questions to ask your doctor: my interview in the Star Tribune
Hi, friends,
I was recently interviewed by Allie Shah of the Minneapolis Star Tribune for an article titled “10 questions you should ask your doctor.” As I mentioned on the Healthy Matters radio broadcast last Sunday, I am posting the link to the article.
Check it out if you wish by clicking the underline link above. Share or post as you want!
David
