Dr. Mom Life | Fat Geriatrician

This is the cold that never ends…

Posted on January 22, 2019 by Fat Geriatrician

…it just goes on and on my friends….

No, I’m not talking about the weather. I live in Sunny San Antonio, and I wore capri pants and no jacket to work today–comfortably. (Jealous anyone from up north?)

I’m talking about the eternal winter cold that comes with having 2 kids in daycare. At least one person has been ill in our household since November. Things have really picked up in January with GI bugs (yes plural), colds, ear infections, etc. I spent today in a Dayquil and pseudoephedrine haze–and I STILL can’t breath through my nose.

If Oprah was in the Powers Household Right Now….

At the beginning of the month, I hadn’t updated the blog due to the impending Geriatric Academic Career Award (GACA) deadline. I spent all of my time (staying at work until midnight or later, even on weekends), writing for the GACA. I even brought my sick little guy with me to work on the submission day because he had an ear infection, his daddy was out of town for work, and daycare wouldn’t take him until his fever broke. I now feel compelled to write a post here just because it has been so long, but my mucus addled brain is not cooperating.

So instead, I’ll just post a picture that I put together several years ago from images I found on the internet. It was a connection my brain immediately made when I saw the T-Rex meme for the first time, but I couldn’t find a pre-made version of it anywhere. The T-Rex/walker analogy could also be extended to hearing aids/personal sound amplifying devices, low vision rehabilitation/tools, appropriate medication management, caregiver burnout, or any treatment for a geriatric syndrome. (My mind went to the first two examples immediately because my GACA proposal focuses on acquired sensory impairment in older adults. If I get it, there WILL be a “pocket-talker” version of this meme coming. Fingers crossed!)

If all you have is a hammer, every problem is a nail. Geriatricians have the full toolbox at their disposal. We help make our patients, Unstoppable!

No Mommy Work

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Fat Geriatrician

My heart it broken. This morning my little girl (just barely 2 years old), threw a tantrum. It wasn’t just any tantrum. It was a five minute fit about not wanting me to go to work. “No Mommy Work,” became her mantra. The more she said it, the more I wanted to cry too. I swear her eyes looked like this:

The Mom Guilt is real today.

Luckily, it is a Friday–and it will be a long weekend too. I’m looking forward to spending it all with her and her little brother.

Mornings like today’s leave me questioning life choices.

How do I let my little ones know that I go to work because my job lets me help others in a unique way, and that my job brings me a fulfilling sense of purpose that I wish for them to find one day?

How do I express to someone who still doesn’t quite have the concept of time down that I will be back this afternoon, and then we can play together for 3 days straight?

How do I let them know about the major time investment that I have made in my job? I went to school through the 26th grade (4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, 3 years of residency, 1 year of clinical fellowship, and 2 years of research fellowship) to get this job. And I still owe almost $200k on the student loans that financed that education. It would be a major waste of time, money, and effort for me to just “not work.”

And how do I let them know that despite loving my job, I LOVE them more? When they really need me, I will drop everything to be with them. (I’m grateful for a wonderful family-focused culture in my current job).

While writing this post, I found an children’s book called, “Mommy, Please don’t go to work!” I just ordered it–so I can’t review it here, yet. But I’m hoping it will help me start to explain.

To all of you working mommies out there–especially Dr. Mommies–I salute you!