The siloed practice of medicine has lead to a terrible pandemic response. The Swiss Cheese model of preventing COVID-19 transmission demonstrates the power of whole-picture thinking.
Tag: Essay
Remembering Pastor Duke Vipperman
My Pastor, The Rev. Canon Dr. Walter Bryce (Duke) Vipperman, died on Friday, 3 January 2020 from cancer at the age of 69. This is my eulogy of an ordinary, radical man. The sun shone on the church steps as Duke shook hands with congregants emerging through the ornery wood church doors. I hung back…
Reading v. Learning: A Thought Exercise
Is reading learning? Are the higher cognitive aspects of reading really just learning and concentration? Are my problems only learning issues and not reading ones? If it’s solely a learning issue, then logically I would have the same kind of issue with any kind of learning. If learning is the issue, then the modality of…
Do Therapists Need to be on Twitter?
Data don’t lie; you can’t hide from data. Mid-August my gamma brainwaves had dropped, my ever-spinning busy brain, heart rate, and muscle tension risen. Then my Pastor helped me make a necessary decision, and all my brainwaves returned to my normal the first week of September. I learnt a hard lesson about social media and…
Happy New Year!!!
The clock struck midnight. And the second hand ticked past. Fireworks exploded in city-lit skies. And people yelled, “Happy New Year!” Fingers tapped out texts to far-flung relatives, and phones rang everywhere with exclamations of joy and promise to come. Some twittered their resolutions to each other, and older somes with a smile, avoided…
I Am A Survivor Journeying to Thriver
BIST (Brain Injury Society of Toronto) supports people with traumatic or acquired brain injuries (like moi) and their family members in the Toronto area and are affiliated with the Ontario Brain Injury Association. BIST asked me to write a survivor story for the BIST Beacon (PDF file), and my story appeared originally in the October…
Identity
Identity. What is that? With the 9/11 anniversary imminent, Muslim identity is one of the hot topics on talk shows. With school starting again, African or Caribbean identity in our education system is on some minds although not as dominant as last year. And in cyclical fashion, First Nations identity is discussed amongst some Canadians.…
Medicine Admits Concussions Bad but Still Doesn’t Understand
I read an article in The Toronto Star recently titled “A Blow to the Head is a Big Deal” by Megan Ogilvie (8 April 2011), and I knew I had to read it. It wasn’t long before I was grumbling and had to comment on it. So here are some excerpts with my thoughts. ““The…
Tax Relief in Canada for Those With Disabilities
You’re an adult, you’re tripping along, living life, working hard, and then the universe sends you splat, and suddenly you’re seeing doctors, suffering, in pain, not working, and watching your bank account slide into the red. While you may be receiving good help for what ails you, you’re probably not getting good help for what…