Death never takes a holiday

In recent years, the holiday season has been rough on Sam Blackman of Jamaica Plain, a pediatric oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He explains on his Blog, MD:

"This is now my third holiday season that coincides with the demise of a patient. During my first year I watched an amazing 2 1/2-year-old die of a brainstem tumor. Last year was another amazing little girl with hepatoblastoma. This year one of my teenage patients is receiving palliative care for a multiply relapsed, widely metastatic soft tissue cancer. At the same time, one of my stem cell transplants is critically ill and in the ICU, and I'm worried that they too may not survive."

And he ponders why he is not crying: "Clearly it's not time for crying (for me). Not any time soon I hope. I want these patients' families to have their wish and have them alive for the holiday. I want their remaining time to be meaningful. I want and need to focus on the work at hand, and I need to stand away from the patients' families so that they can work their way through their emotions in the manner that suits them best. If and when they succumb to their disease, I am quite certain that I will be able to cry as an expression of loss, defeat, anger and frustration. But I am quite sure that I will also be feeling intense pride for the fight they undertook, warm for their families, and love for their lives. Hmm. Maybe this is what the holidays are about after all."

Musings on the food police

Charles Swift of Dorchester ponders the outcry over a legislative proposal to ban trans fats in restaurants. Massachusetts and Boston have been regulating food additives for hundreds of years, he writes on his City Record and Boston News-Letter:

"Taking a look at The Charter and Ordinances of the City of Boston ... [circa] 1834, we find ready examples of food supply regulation:

"'That no person hereafter shall bring into the City, or have in his possession for sale, or shall sell or offer for sale within the City, any vegetables whatever (excepting green peas in the pods, and green corn in the inner husks) which have not been previously divested of such parts or appendages as are not commonly used for food.'"

Stopping to notice the roses

Paul Levy recently canceled service for his BlackBerry device rather than pay for the more expensive service his carrier was trying to push on him. The CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center writes about the experience on Running a Hospital:

"I have since discovered marvelous things. The sun rises in the morning and sets at night. Airport lounges are great places to visit with friends or read a book. Red lights are an excellent excuse to stop driving, look around, and see what's happening on the streetscape. People in meetings pay more attention to you if you pay more attention to them. The e- mail that arrived three hours ago is still relevant -- or better yet, no longer matters!"

Contact Adam Gaffin at adamg@gaffin.com. Find links to the complete items mentioned here at www.gaffin.com/1231.html.