[AnnieB3]

I have a BS in Art Education and a Masters in Design. I was going to be a biochemist but must've taken a wrong turn at the large Univ. I went to! I think that the reason I've been able to figure out things like my B12 deficiency back in 1999 was that I had a creative background. I learned how to use both sides of my brain and integrate them to be a better problem solver. And what my Professor liked to call Associative Thinking. I honestly believe that is a main reason why so many doctors don't do as well as they could. They are stuck in the left brain!

You guys are open-minded and quite creative in lots of different ways, from what you've written here. I appreciate all kinds of creativity. And for those of you who think you can't be creative, you just haven't tried. Or you can't "see" that you are. None of us are born creative unless we are geniuses. It just takes practice.

Alice, You wanted to read a poem. I have not shared ANY of my book but I thought I'd share this poem. It's the final one in the book. It wraps up how I feel about doctoring and what I hope doctors will learn from it. And I want to emphasize again that I have only used my own experiences and those of my family in the book - I have not used anything from you guys or this forum! It's against the rules of the forum, yes. But more importantly, when you write a book, you need to draw on what YOU have experienced. Not that you guys don't have great stories but they are YOURS to tell.

I hope you guys feel like sharing what you like to create, whether that's children, food, music or anything else. This is a hard thing for me to share. I'm so critical of myself, so go easy! I think being creative may be a key to overcoming life with an illness like MG. Like figuring out how to make it through the day without wearing yourself out. Using paper plates when you are too tired. Having chairs everywhere to sit down on. Doing errands early in the day when you're less worn out. Seeing neuros in the afternoon so they can see how bad you are! Stuff like that. I know there are so many other things that keep us going, like faith, but our minds are so useful when we try to "see" things in different ways.


Ode to Doctors
By Annie

Learn to love wrinkles
Not only the young;
Make peace with endings
Not only what’s begun.

Question your motives
Then answer them too;
Learn what you don’t know
Pass on what you do.

Act like you want
All patients to get well;
Don’t red-flag or drop them
Or blacklist them towards hell.

Talk about your mistakes,
Apologetic and sincere;
Most of us will be grateful
Some may even cheer.

I know you aren’t all
Villains, mobsters and such;
Some are princes among frogs
With no time to kiss much.

I know that it’s hard
Acting like you’re a God;
So come down off the pedestal,
Your patients will applaud.

Look for the cheese
Not only the mold;
Do what seems right
Not only what you’re told.

See what you don’t,
Not only what you do;
Diagnose the invisible
Not only what has a clue.

And when you screw up,
And you know that you will,
Don’t reach for the blame,
Or a lie or a pill.

Diagnose before pills,
Think before ever doing,
Caution never kills,
And patience is worth pursuing.

And when you feel jaded
Take time to think;
About living with a disease
Because having one stinks.

Tell your boss what you want
And all things that you need;
For the sake of your patients
Go ahead and plead.

When you write patient notes
Remember what you say,
Can hurt more than mistakes
And the damage is here to stay.

Learn to love knowledge,
Not only what you know;
Open wide your mind
And let your heart show.

Learn how to be creative
Setting your entire brain free;
Problems will be fewer
Making solutions easy to see.

At the end of each day
Take some time to reflect;
Be grateful for what’s right,
And rectify what’s incorrect.

Put away your doctor toys,
That means the lawyers too;
Take some time off to play
To begin the next day anew.

Maybe then you will know
And even possibly agree;
Doctoring isn’t about diseases
But the patients you see.