It was the third surgical case of that morning and the second knee arthroplasty. It was close to noon, we’d been working since 7AM and were getting hungry. I was assisting Dr. T. A very competent, mild-mannered surgeon. With us was Dr. A. a senior resident from our university orthopaedic department. The patient was in her mid-fifties, an obese and short lady. We had a little difficulty positioning her on the table for the procedure.Dr. A. who was a tall, athletic young man seemed disgusted with Dr. T’s meticulous attention to detail and, with a disdained (rude) voice, murmured something about her being too overweight and needing to lose weight.
“She can hardly walk, let alone exercise,” said Dr. T. in his usual calm and mild manner. “Why don’t we fix her knee, then she can work on losing weight.”
Everyone in the room smiled and moved their heads in approval, including Dr. A. The procedure went well, and the patient moved to recovery.
Above like objections and protests are familiar and, in today’s hurried and demanding environment, frequent. Sometimes we forget that we are there for the patient, not the other way. Another great surgeon and humane physician, I had the privilege of working with, used to say: In every case, I am grateful that I am not the one on the table. It makes me appreciative of being a doctor, and I’ll do everything to live up to the respect this job deserves. Such reverence makes for a happy and satisfying life. Especially in these days of for-profit practices.

Spring arrived on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at 11:06 PM Eastern and 8:06 PM Pacific time in the Northern Hemisphere, marked by the Vernal (Spring) Equinox.

Noted by many cultures as New Year for thousands of years. Nurooz, which means new day, is celebrated in many parts of the world. Zoroastrians were one of the early cultures that started their year thus. It is a time of purification and setting one’s intention for a new start. Other civilizations, such as the Mayan, also celebrated the Spring Equinox for hundreds of years before the Spanish arrived. Even the western cultures celebrated New Year in the spring till Julius Caesar changed it to January in 45 B.C. Interesting how mankind feels the need to tie everything to himself. Even unchangeable nature’s circle of existence.
 
 It is said that "as the seasons form a great circle in their changing, so does the life of a person - from childhood to childhood." Since many of our leaders are acting dangerously childish, perhaps it is time for our younger generation to step up and save our world. So "Arise and start anew, for much awaits to be done. All things evolve from the creator, and all must revolve to complete the circle of life!" It is time to complete this circle peacefully.
 
 Despite all the tragedies in our world, I wish us all a better and Happy New Year! May it be a peaceful one!

Amen!

Today is International Pi Day. No, not pie day, rather Pi (π) Day. The mathematical constant, that is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, approximated as 3.14159... Although it is believed that the Babylonians were the first to have calculated it to be about 3.125, Archimedes (287-212 BC) is considered to be the first to calculate it accurately. Thus, March 14 or the fourteenth day of the third month of the year (3.14) is celebrated as Pi Day by mathematicians.
This mathematical constant is approximated as 3.1415926535… The decimal number goes on forever. Contained within its string of decimals is every number pertaining to man's life, history, nature and cosmos. And if the decimals are converted into letters, you will find every word that ever existed, spoken and written. All the infinite possibilities of words rest within this one simple circle.
In our bodies, too, the ratio of our consciousness or psyche to our physical being could be said to have infinite possibilities. Our body goes where the mind tells it to. Our mind works by the demands of our soul/ consciousness/ intellect/ psyche — or whatever we want to call it. Our actions are dictated by our desires, wishes and wants, which in turn are based on our intelligence, education, experience, and wisdom. The more of these combinations we use, the better will be the outcome of our deeds. The possibilities of our actions are infinite. The choices we make may depend on the advice of others, on our teaching, or on a variety of outside influences. But the end result is where we end up in our lives and what we have to live with. Limited knowledge leads to limited and fewer choices and actions; wiser decisions produce healthier and happier outcomes.
Healthcare gives us many opportunities to find answers to our medical and mental challenges. There are many options for the constant of man's needs and our technology adds to those options. Indeed, it is a wonderful time in history we live in and if prudent decisions are made, a bright future will surely be ours. Let’s strive for such future.

The ongoing calamities around the world strain rational thinking.  Just as we feel that we have the grasp of one tragedy, another explodes. We are being pulled in so many directions, that we may question the very significance of life itself.  But if there is anything I know of life, of all the hopes, the happy days and the sad ones, of the days of blue skies and nights of the new moon, of the sound of children at play and the pain of wounded soldiers, the homeless and hungry, is that it challenges the very soul of us, the essence of our being and the audacity of our existence.

But will life remember us? Will our names be recalled in kindness?  Will our children have the freedom to run in these woods? Will their children? What did our lives mean? Was it just a passing, or will something remain of it?  Though we are just a traveler through these times, we learn from all that we see, and pass it on to others passing us by.  Hoping that they too add well to it as they pass it on, for this is our life until we die or live on if we are remembered well. Till then, let's not add to the crisis, let's stay peaceful, heal the needy, keep learning and teaching. Maybe then our existence will be audaciously meaningful.