Thanksgiving

As Dorothy said to Toto, "My, how things change so quickly around here!" Thanksgiving holiday is already upon us, and the Christmas blitz is already in the making. This weekend LaTonya and I went to a program for the Safe Schools Initiative at New Testament Central City Church. I got the chance to update the parents on immunization requirements, and to we spend quite a bit of time discussing and dispelling myths about H1N1 influenza. It is a "Healthy People 2010" goal that at least 90% of American children will have their primary immunizations completed by age 3. The state of Wisconsin has come close to reaching this goal, but it is hampered by the City of Milwaukee, where only 64% of kids have done so. It never ceases to amaze me the level of disparity we still see in Milwaukee. But it also reminds me of how much for which we have to be thankful. With all the problems we have, things are MUCH better here than they are in most of the world.



This morning my Community Medicine student I spend 0ver an hour with a patient discussing her social situation, the choices she has made, and how it affects her present health predicament. And without make excuses for bad choices, I have to acknowledge that there are SOOO many obsticles in her way. Her parents died when she was young, and so she and her siblings were raised by her older sister. She and her extended family are living off of 2 disabilty checks. She is addicted to her pain medications. Their environment is unsafe (she was raped in her home by her sister's drug-dealing boyfriend several months ago). They presently have NO electricty (her outstanding electric bill is $4000, and her sister's is $10000). They have no car, and usually do not have a telephone. Today I had to explain to her how her pulmonary hypertension is so bad that she probably has only several months to live. Maybe this time can be extended if she quits smoking. Even more importanly, maybe she can make her world better if she takes control of her life. Of course her problems are so insurmountable that she needs a whole different outlook on the world, that only comes by a complete psycho-spiritual regeneration. But I can only hope...



Anyway, make sure that you thank God as you engorge yourself with food this Thursday, and map out your plan for Black Friday deals. Thank God tonight its them instead of you.

Dr. Izard