jjablkowski's blog

We, a group of North American health care workers with Iranian origins (including physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, and other allied health groups), stand in solidarity and in one voice with the brave people of Iran fighting for freedom and democracy.

According to the Geneva Convention, under no circumstances shall any health care worker be punished for carrying out medical activities, and persons engaged in medical activities shall not be compelled to carry out work contrary to the rules of medical ethics.

You have probably now heard about the growing protests throughout Iran despite consistent use of violence by the Iranian security forces. These protests were sparked by the killing of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in custody of the morality police simply due to having a few strands of hair showing despite wearing a hijab.

I recently finished reading a book by Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Song of the Cell. Actually, it is not quite true that I’ve finished reading it, I find myself going back and back to reread how cells in the body “enable profound forms of physiology: immunity, reproduction, sentience, cognition, repair, and rejuvenation,” and what happens when dysfunctional cells tip our bodies from cellular physiology to cellular pathology. But where do cells come from?

In 2021, the Canadian government brought in Bill C-7: An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Medical Assistance in Dying), expanding the right to seek medical assistance in dying (MAID) to Canadians who aren’t near death immediately but who are intolerably suffering. People suffering solely from mental illnesses will have access to MAID as of March 2023. 

This will enable an exit from life for patients in the throes of as-yet incurable mental illness. Experts estimate that the number of requests for MAID from such severely ill persons will be small.

The BC Lung Foundation’s Bicycle Trek 2022, exploring the beautiful and fresh-air-filled Fraser Valley, was supposed to take place 10–11 September 2022. It was planned as a 200 km ride—part fundraiser, part weekend getaway to support the one in five BC citizens affected by lung disease, primarily in its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) format. Currently, there are few options beyond symptom control for this progressive condition. For a long time, COPD has been thought of as a self-inflicted disorder by chronic smokers.