Happy April... 19th?
An upcoming book, a new job, and more!
I spend a lot of time thinking about poop. Not in a weird or gross way, but in a curious, “There’s still so much we don’t know, and I want to know” way. We kind of take pooping for granted when it goes well, but when it doesn’t, welcome to hell.
You might say I am paid to think about poop, but I’m not, really. I am— I was— paid to think about how to make patients better (with the lowest cost and, therefore how to make the hospital more money). So thinking about poop was my side gig.
In more recent months, though, it has become my primary job. No one gets more excited when my infant has pooped, to the point where I run into the nursery to check on the color, amount, and quality of whatever’s in the diaper. In the first few weeks, when the baby had one whole day without pooping, I got worried. No child of mine would be (chronically) constipated! With a little thought and a little research, we have since had a poop almost every single day of her newborn life. There were a few exceptions, but those were mostly on travel days or hot days.
That kind of leads into some exciting news that I have to share. I’ve finally signed a contract with a publisher. My non-fiction book about the history and science of constipation will be out in the fall of 2024. While I was unemployed (and growing a baby), I was also writing this book. So it seemed to all work out swimmingly. More on the book later.
In the meantime, I finally went back to work. My official title is “Co-Director of the Hemorrhoid Centers of America” but that sounds far grander than it is. I’m part-time for now, but seeing patients again was really fun for me. I’m excited to expand this office practice. But I really missed my baby and apparently she missed me. So I’m glad this is part-time work with a fairly predictable schedule, unlike being on ER surgery call.I didn’t want to be a parent who went to work before her kid woke up and came home after she went to bed. I’m way too sentimental for that.
This newsletter is late because I wanted to make sure everything was real before writing about it. In other news, I have been working on several pieces of writing for my Media & Medicine course, and two of my five op-eds have been published on Doximity. One of them has over 100 comments! You do need a Doximity account to read those. I was also asked to be in the inaugural class of Surgery Reviewer Academy where I have to review journal articles prior to publication. Technically, I have already been doing this for Cureus and for Surgical Endoscopy, but this gives me more practice, more credentials, and more contacts.
Doximity Op-meds
Moving is the Worst. Here’s how to do it better
Upcoming
I helped with an article on Fight CRC’s blog about colon stenting as bridge to surgery.
I was asked to do my favorite thing, thinking about thinking, and was interviewed for a podcast with Dr. Brynn Winegard. More on that soon.
In May, I’m due to be on a podcast to read some poetry. Date TBD in the May newsletter.
In June, I have a conference in Seattle. I’m supposed to moderate a poster session and be an interviewer for mock orals. We also have two posters being presented.
Everyone is asleep right now, including my parents and the baby, so I figure I have at least twenty minutes to finish writing this. The one thing I find funny is that I spent all my time reading up on pregnancy and labor and almost zero time reading up on what happens after. Even during our evidence-based birth class, we watched all the videos except the last one about the fourth trimester and the care and feeding of a newborn. I thought, erroneously so, that the pregnancy and labor (the pain of which is what everyone fears) would be the hard parts. But, eight weeks after her birth, the perineal pain is gone, and you are left with this baby, your baby, for which you are responsible forever. So 9 months of pregnancy is no time at all in grand scheme of things, in the timeline of this human being whom you will know for the next 30-50 years, God-willing. I thought life after a baby would just be my life before a baby, but with a baby. But it absolutely isn’t. It is its own wonderful, hectic, beautiful thing. L said today, in a rare quiet moment together, that being with our baby makes her heart explode like nothing ever before. I have to agree. We spent over a decade advancing our careers and chasing our dreams but we have a new north star now. And her name is Francine.
Until next time, always go black tie.
As usual I am curious about what you have to share because it's so cleverly written. If I would've known I would've asked you about my constipation issues LOL Francine is absolutely adorable!!