October

Dr Verchere is a pediatric plastic surgeon at BC Children’s Hospital, a clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia, and a member of the consultative staff at Vancouver General Hospital (UBC). She has been a member of the BCMJ Editorial Board since 2009.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us….” 

Although written to describe an earlier and much harsher time, this opening line from Charles Dickens’s masterpiece A Tale of Two Cities could easily describe today.

In British Columbia, as elsewhere in the world, we have become increasingly protected against the dangers and nuisance of secondhand smoke in many settings, including at work and in public. Ironically, for those of us living in multi-unit dwellings, be it as renters or owners, one setting in which there remains virtually no protection is where we spend the most time—in our homes.

References

hidden

The following physicians died over the past several months; please consider submitting a piece for our “In Memoriam” section in the BCMJ if you knew the deceased well.

1928–2011
Dr Al Swan was a remarkable man with an impressive gift of a near-photographic memory. He was a modest but formidable savant in many areas, and it was a treat to be in his company.