A young physician's journey of recovery from surviving breast cancer to coping with the traumatic stress of providing front line care during the COVID pandemic
One, two, three, four…I count to myself as I breathe deeply. “Breathing in calmness, breathing out tension,” I tell myself as I fight against the feeling of panic. I steady myself. My anxiety and fear level is a seven and I am mid-traumatic flashback and experiencing what happens when cancer stress triggers memories of past …
The sun is sinking below the horizon as another night shift begins. I have a long 12 hour shift ahead of me but in the peaceful moments, which are few and far between, my mind drifts to the series of events that has led me to this moment in time. I am thinking about moral …
This morning is muggy and humid. Saharan dust has made its yearly pilgrimage across the ocean and suppressed our normal summer tropical systems. Our heat index is predicted to be 112 degrees today. At 8:30 in the morning I am already sweating. This morning as I walked the sidewalks of the neighborhood village, I came …