The Stories

On this weekend, I've listened to podcasts and read the newspaper. I love the diagnosis piece that runs in the NYT magazine. This week the story told about a woman who could no longer walk and no one could figure out why. Finally a doctor figured out that it might be caused by using too much denture adhesive, which contains high amounts of zinc. And then I listened to the story of a doctor named Jack Geiger who was befriended by the great actor, Canada Lee. This piece was on This American Life, in the episode about the kindness of strangers. Jack Geiger was a founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility. I wouldn't mind being a doctor. I've had a nagging concern for my own profession since starting the new job. I love the idea of figuring something out and fixing it as in the case of the denture adhesive. I also love the idea of repositioning the job into broader work for human rights, as in the case of Jack Geiger.
If Teendaughter or #1 son could become doctors, I could learn more about what's involved with being a physician, almost firsthand. We may be getting a clinic in our new school that's being built, and maybe I could work part time in there to get true firsthand experience.