Author Archives: JR Stanley

A common refrain heard in medicine is “I should have done ________” or “I should quit practicing medicine and do _________.” The sentiment is well taken. The hours are long, the years of training are substantial, and often the job description and responsibilities have grown while the benefits and perks have decreased or stayed theContinue reading “S2.14 Choosing to stay”

What if on the last car ride before the end, the last moments at the bedside, the last roll down the hallway there was only silence. What if there was no scramble to get things in order, no panicked attempt to remember everything that must be done. What if there was no hurried goodbyes compressingContinue reading “S2.13 What If There Was Silence”

The critical, title job of a firefighter is to fight fires. Thanks to many improvements in building codes, preventative measures, technology, and awareness, the number of fires has dramatically decreased. Thus the role of the firefighter in the community has expanded to become that of a first-responder to a variety of situations including motor vehicleContinue reading “S2.12 Be Like The Firefighter”

Timing is everything. More specifically the timing of the end is everything. The place that the director calls cut, the moment that the movie cameras stop rolling, the place that we leave our characters in the last chapter of the book define how the story ends for the viewer, but not so for the charactersContinue reading “S2.11 Sunset Rides”

Everything has an expert. There are experts in sports, in arts, in sciences, in law, in medicine, in culture, in language, in engineering, in entertainment, in business, and in countless other venues. It is incredible what you can now get a masters degree or doctorate in. Whenever there is uncertainty or a question people runContinue reading “The Corona Diaries Episode IV: Expert”

Everyone wants the guarantee, the knowledge that it will be alright in the end. During uncertain times, when health or livelihoods are at stake, we want to have the promise that we will make it out the other side. When this cannot be genuinely assured, we may often settle for false assurance, the opinion ofContinue reading “The Corona Diaries Episode III: False Assurances”

Our greatest fears are not pain, discomfort, or difficulty. What man and woman dread most is not the agony of torn flesh or broken bones. These will heal. What man and woman find intolerable above all else and dread before any other is the agony of a broken spirit and a lost soul. Losing theirContinue reading “S2.10 Epic”

The famous lines in the musical Annie come as Annie dreams of the promise that better days are ahead.  “Tomorrow, Tomorrow! I love you tomorrow You’re always a day Away”  Hope of a better tomorrow, an improved future is the why that drives and overrides the what for many people. Most of our routine actions,Continue reading “The Corona Diaries Episode II: The Promise Of Tomorrow, The Curse Of Eternity”

When times are good, it is often difficult to remember what is essential and what is a luxury. Periods in which things are more difficult, either by choice or by unfortunate circumstance are revealing, humbling, and grounding.  Time is one of the commodities we feel that we are constantly on the brink of running out.Continue reading “The Corona Diaries I: Essential”

There are good reasons to run. Exercise and fun are probably the best and most common. Rarely if you are in immediate danger such as are going to be hit by a car, trapped in a burning building, or escaping from a flash flood. Running could also be necessary to help someone else, perhaps aContinue reading “S2.9 Walk, Don’t Run”