A Whirlwind of Service, Scholarship, and Gratitude
Today was supposed to be an academic day—a chance to recharge, catch up on work, and make progress on scholarly projects. Instead, it turned into a whirlwind of commitments, unexpected challenges, and a few bright spots that reminded me why I do what I do. The morning started with a short meeting for the health, safety, and nutrition subcommittee of our daughter’s daycare board. From there, I jumped into a 45-minute interview with a journalist writing a story for the American Medical Association. By 10 a.m., I was catching up on patient messages before heading to the university campus to serve as a judge for an undergraduate poster session. While I was engaged with the students, messages piled up about a patient at our treatment center whose orders needed urgent attention. As soon as I left the session, I put out fires and made it back to my office just after noon. I thought I’d have time to regroup before my 2 p.m. meeting—but life had other plans. A colleague, a head and neck surgeon...