secretwave101

On Knowing What You’re Doing

SW101 — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 21:15:01 +0000

Before I went to med school I worked in clinical research. One of my jobs was to start IV’s occasionally on patients. I’d only just learned, from one of the other researchers, about a month prior when I encountered the humiliation of a patient with zero trust in my skills. Rightfully so, in this case. …

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Renewed In the Spirit of Your Mind?

SW101 — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 21:14:52 +0000

Ephesians 4:22-24 says, “…in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in …

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It’s Not About You

SW101 — Sun, 02 Jan 2022 02:30:35 +0000

When a child shrieks out in searing pain, you never forget the sound. “What does he have?” asked my steadfast Haitian translator. I barely paused, though I’d only ever read about the disease in my medical school text books. “Polio,” I said, fighting back a new conglomerate sensation best described as a combination of anxiety, …

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From Social Distancing to High-Risk Sequestering

SW101 — Thu, 07 May 2020 23:17:35 +0000

I am losing faith in social distancing. The cost is too great, the effect too minimal. There isn’t a lot of evidence, but what evidence there is doesn’t appear to support blanket social distancing policies. Thanks to the “Sweden Phenomenon,” I’m currently trying to better understand the relationship between death rate and lack of distancing. …

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Respect The Denominator

SW101 — Sun, 15 Mar 2020 22:57:49 +0000

These are pressing days for medical people. Among them, the most challenged may well be the epidemiologists. These are the people who determine how bad the this latest novel coronavirus really is, how many people it is infecting, and what to do about it. Not easy. Perhaps the major difficulty in this outbreak is the …

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A Eulogy To Words

SW101 — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 19:04:22 +0000

Sometimes the greatest tragedies come quietly. Today marks a week since the passing of The Writer’s Almanac, one of the few modern examples of true literary culture edging – just slightly – into the American mainstream. The Almanac has been around for 24 years. Hosted by its creator, Garrison Keillor, each daily program included vignettes …

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A Cross Necklace

SW101 — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 21:37:05 +0000

Being a Christian refugee in this part of the world is a dangerous affair. Unlike in America, where counting oneself a Christian is increasingly perceived as a designation that affords privilege, sometimes to an unfair degree (I have my doubts on that one), there is no question that the opposite is true in much of …

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The Support Team

SW101 — Sun, 10 Apr 2016 11:05:14 +0000

A couple of old pros.

Headed Back to Athens

SW101 — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 15:07:06 +0000

For the second time in less than a year, I’m on my way back to Athens. This will be a short trip with virtually no team. My colleague organizing things in Athens has stated that she “feels sorry” for me, as the number of people signed up for the clinic appears to be quite …

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Ambushed!

SW101 — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 10:39:00 +0000

International work, medical or otherwise, is dangerous. Maybe only a little more dangerous than normal American life, maybe quite a lot. A long-term Christian missionary doing really, really good work was gunned down in Haiti just today. I myself have done relief work in Haiti. One of the places I worked is located in the …

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