THE LONG ROAD

Today, I experienced two firsts in clinic since joining my new institution. My nurse alerted me that one of my patients had died. Later that day, I had to tell a patient and his wife that his cancer was progressing and that we had no more treatment options to slow down his cancer.

Obviously, I have dealt with these issues before, but COVID makes these experiences so much more challenging with the need to distance, the inability to talk face to face, and because it is unsafe to hug or console patients.

In such times, our words and how we deliver them become even more important. Therefore, I tried my best to listen to the concerns of these families and to express the sadness I felt at not being able to do more. 

We often congratulate ourselves for our professional victories: a new grant funded a new manuscript accepted. However, we should measure success by the quality and quantity of our patients' lives. That is why we come to work, and if we are not moving the needle on that, then everything else we do is insignificant.

As sad as today was, I will carry these feelings with me tomorrow and each day moving forward. These tragedies are a reminder of how much more we have to do. I, for one, am ready for this fight.

TASTE THE NATION

Recently, I finished a new show on Hulu called Taste the Nation hosted by the model and Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi. In the show, Ms. Lakshmi travels around the country and meets with different immigrant or racial groups that have brought their unique traditions and cuisine to the country.

The show takes us to all four corners and the history behind so many mouth-watering dishes - from burritos, sausages, and Chinese and Indian food. Needless to say, the show is hunger-inducing, but the best part is realizing how our strength in this country is our diversity.

Despite this president's best efforts, he will not fail to divide us. This is because there is more that we share than that separates us. At least, I hope so.

Check out the show and be prepared to cook or get takeout after having your appetite worked up.

HAMILTON

Tonight we watched an original Hamilton cast performance on Disney Plus. We had seen a performance of the Chicago cast three years ago and own the original cast recording, but seeing this performance with Lin-Manuel Miranda and the original gang was extra special.

The musical was inspired by the biography of Hamilton by Ron Chernow and tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first Treasury Secretary. Hamilton was much more than that, however. He was an orphan who fled poverty in the West Indies and came to this country as an immigrant. He worked his way up first as an aide to then General Washington and became a key defender of the Constitution, writing the Federalist Papers. He was driven and the musical talks about how prolific a writer he was and how he "wrote like he was running out of time." He appears to have been one of the nation's original workaholics and always put excellence and strengthening the country first.

Like many ambitious men, he had his failings, including infidelity and was ensared in an affair that culminated in blackmail and secret payoffs. When the payoffs came to light, and Hamilton was accused of embezzling federal funds, he decided to come clean and tell the truth in order to save his public reputation despite the fact that it would tarnish his private and family life. This paradoxical event says a lot about Hamilton's sense of right and wrong and how he valued the truth above all.

If you've not seen Hamilton, check it out on Disney Plus. Here is a performance of the original cast for President Obama at the White House. Enjoy!