Rail travel has long been shrouded in both mystery and romance. English novelist Agatha Christie famously wrote “Murder on the Orient Express,” a tale of intrigue involving one of her most famous characters, Hercule Poirot. American singer-songwriter Steve Goodman originally wrote and recorded “City of New Orleans,” a song about…
Columns
For all the time I’ve spent in my 31 years “sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death,” as Moaning Myrtle from the “Harry Potter” series says, facing the loss of a loved one hasn’t gotten any easier. In spite of all my pondering, reading, and writing on the subject of…
Navigating the healthcare system on a regular basis can be draining. This is especially true considering that many hospitals, acute care clinics, and family physicians are struggling to deal with a backlog of patients in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients often require a multidisciplinary team to manage their care. My IPF journey has been shaped by all the medical professionals I’ve encountered along the way. I was formally diagnosed on Jan. 31, 2017, at the Inova Fairfax Hospital’s Advanced Lung Disease and Transplant…
I have always been passionate about professional development and am often the first to express interest in training sessions, conferences, or webinars to enhance my learning in the field of psychotherapy. Professional development stretches my thinking and introduces concepts I may not have thought about. I recently attended a virtual…
A change in seasons is underway here in Virginia, and across the mid-Atlantic. Trees that were once lush and green are now exploding with fiery red, burnt orange, and golden hues. All of those leaves have also begun to fall from the trees to the ground. Firewood is stacked and…
When I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in January 2017, it felt like my entire world had shrunk. My wife and caregiver, Susan, and I were suddenly alone on an island. I’m confident many feel this way after receiving a diagnosis. However, a rare, incurable disease can…
I have begun a new, educational phase in my life: I’m working to become a patient advocate. Honestly, I’d never thought about patient advocacy until I was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in December 2019. But it became extremely important to me when I realized that my…
Greetings from Griefville. This column comes in three parts. Part 1: Grief is the worst Five years ago, I lost my cousin Charlie to lung cancer. He went to the emergency room with what he thought was pneumonia, and six weeks later, he was gone. It was a cold, dark…
The benefits of mindfulness are becoming more prevalent in literature. A quick search on social media or Google will reveal not only the importance of practicing mindfulness regularly, but also an abundance of self-led practice videos and articles about the topic. However, I wish the benefits of mindfulness for those…
