Guest Post: Affair of the Heart: III. Facing Reality, Finally

This is the third post in Affair of the Heart, a series that takes place at the intersection of a highly-experienced science writer and the medical system. by Colin Norman When my aortic aneurysm could no longer be ignored,  and my cardiologist recommended a consultation with a specialist, I finally began to act like a science journalist. […]

Guest Post: Affair of the Heart: II. Neglect Not So Benign

This is the second post in Affair of the Heart, a series that takes place at the intersection of a highly-experienced science writer and the medical system. A few months after my brother almost died from an aortic dissection, when his aorta began to break down right where it emerges from the heart, I  was […]

Off Our Meds: Guest Post

Affair of the Heart: I. A Brush with Death This is the last post in the series, Off Our Meds, in which LWON examined some scary issues in medicine but didn’t resort to fear mongering because we didn’t have to, medicine being scary enough as it is.   This is also the first post in […]

Off Our Meds: Doctor Knows Best

This week LWON presents “Off Our Meds,” an examination of some scary issues in medicine. We won’t resort to fear mongering, because we don’t have to. Medicine is scary enough as it is. The woman came to Scott Haig, an orthopedic surgeon, because she had a lump on her collarbone. Usually these lumps are caused by arthritis or […]

Off Our Meds: Guest Post: The Ebola Numbers

Welcome to “Off Our Meds,” a weeklong series in which LWON examines some scary issues in medicine. We won’t resort to fear mongering, because we don’t have to. Medicine is scary enough as it is.  Last week, over at The Atlantic, Jacoba Urist wrote about a truism in journalism: deaths closer to home matter more. This sounds […]

Guest Post: Another Kind of Coming Out Story

So, today I’ll be writing about my colonoscopy. Now wait, please don’t close this page! I promise not to dig too deep…er, I mean, I won’t get too mired in…oops, well, let’s just say I’ll try not to say a whole lot about poop. My real interest right now is actually in the “bowel prep.” […]

Lessons Not Learned

The dog emerged from the aspen grove with straw on her face. At least, that’s what my husband Dave first thought when he saw Molly reappear on the trail he was running with a couple of friends. But it turned out that those weren’t threads of straw. They were porcupine quills, protruding from her lips […]

Two Docs Walk Into A Bar

The bar in question is inside an upscale Italian restaurant in northern Wisconsin. The men are middle-aged with graying hair and glasses. But they’re both fit. They look like they might spend their spare time sailing. One wears a blue button-down shirt and jeans. The other is dressed in a polo shirt and camouflage shorts. Button Down […]