Cool things.

Here's a few cool things I'm thinking about this morning.

First.

This beautiful post by my friend Elizabeth A. who is half mama-half amazing. I am so inspired by this woman. We've done a bit of a swap -- Elizabeth is from Atlanta and lives in the Los Angeles area and I'm from L.A. and now live in Atlanta. She's a lover and a fighter (the good kind) and a kick ass writer, too.

Read that post. It gives beautiful insight into her life as a mom of three--one of whom has special needs. It also paints a lovely image of the innocence of children and how they see the world and the people in it.

Thanks, Elizabeth, for that piece of sunshine.

Second.

I ran! On the Fourth of July, despite me trying my best to worm my way out of it, my Grady bff Lesley M. got me to run with her. Now. I am not sure if you realize what a HUGE deal this is. I can run on a treadmill. No problem. I'm a beast in step classes and in any kind of group exercise class, including Body Pump. But every single time I run outdoors--I sort of can--but the whole time I am counting down the seconds until it is over. So much so that I can barely make it over a mile.

But.

Yes! My butt! Ha! That's the issue. See, when I was in medical school, I used to run. Not far, but I ran. And let me just tell you that back then? Man, I was one fit little puppy. Okay, okay, I was in my twenties. . . yeah, yeah, yadda, yadda. But still. It just keeps seeming like every woman at my desired level of fitness. . . . freakin' runs. 

And. How am I supposed to be the hot mom getting out of my mini-van when I finally get it (because I am SO still getting one) unless I get ridiculously fit? Now you tell me that. 

So. I must. At least. Try. No ifs, ands, or . . .ah hem. . .butts.

And I did! With Lesley, I did. She gave me a gold star for my efforts.

I was proud.

P.S. Lesley is already the hot mom getting out of the mini-van since she has one already.

Third.

My friend and fellow Grady doctor, Ildefonso T., passed away last year. He had something called glioblastoma multiform which is a horrible type of aggressive brain cancer. He fought it like a soldier and lost by only a nose.

Before he died, I asked if I could write about him. And he said, "I'd like that." And so I did.

On July 3, the manuscript I submitted about him was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

I'll come right out and say that this was not my first time having an essay published in this journal. However, there was something connected to this story that was a first. When I logged onto their website on July 3 to see the publication, I was surprised to find a link below it that said "audio."

That's perplexing, I thought.

Well. It turns out that one of the associate editors of the journal did a recorded reading of the essay and placed it on the site. How special! The best part is that it appears to not be password protected like the actual hardcopy version. Imagine that!

So. I'm pretty sure if you click this link, you can hear this audio version of the essay I wrote in honor of the life of my colleague Dr. Ildefonso Tellez. If you're a nerdy internist or connected to one, it's in the July 3 issue--just log on or check the hard copy under the "On Being a Doctor" section. I can't post it since that's like. . . .oh. . .I don't know. . .illegal.

If you're going to try the audio reading, make sure you simply hit the play icon and don't do too much other clicking around or else you'll get to where it doesn't come without a sign in.

Let me know if it works for you.

"Love keeps us alive, all of us."

Thank you, Dr. LaCombe for helping me to honor my colleague and friend in your prestigious journal and on your site. You reading that meant more to way more people than you could ever imagine.

Last.

This is Jenna T.

Yesterday I received a postcard from her. She happens to be one of my former student advisees who just started her Internal Medicine internship in Seattle, Washington. Receiving that card made my day. In addition to addressing me, she also sent greetings to all of the members of Small Group Gamma, who she assisted me in teaching parts of the Cardiology module last spring.

Oh yeah! Jenna also got "Intern of the Week" at the VA in Seattle already--and she just started! What a start, Jenna! So proud of her.

I was touched to get that postcard. That felt special. So thanks for that, Jenna.

So those are my cool things.

I guess the point of it all is that I'm proud. Proud of my students, interns, residents, colleagues, family, friends, and fellow writers. And you know what else? I'm proud of myself for being a part of such a wonderful community of people.

It feels special. So thanks for that.


That's all I got for now.
***

Happy Friday.