November

Three patients each present with cognitive complaints following a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Patient 1 is a successful 45-year-old financial advisor with a large client base. He reports that 3 months following a rock climbing accident he can’t do his job anymore. He says, “I can’t think straight.” Patient 2 is a 78-year-old independent-living woman who has had a few falls and may have bumped her head in the process.

Health Canada, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, has proposed lowering the national radon guideline for dwellings. This initiative provides a timely opportunity to revisit an important though not widely known health risk. It is estimated that radon accounts for about 10% of the lung cancer cases in Canada.[1]

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Aphorisms, even about prevention, can be annoying. However, if we ignore the physician’s role in prevention, we fail to maximize physicians’ potential productivity.

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It’s intriguing that humans have in a few hundred thousand years (really only an evolutionary eye blink) managed to develop a purely physiological communication system wherein complex concepts and equally complex questions can be effectively communicated by simply manipulating the sounds that are produced when we blow air over a couple of folds of cartilage in our lower neck.

As a result of a recent cycling accident, I found myself, suddenly and unexpectedly, thrown (literally as well as figuratively) into the role of patient. Lying on the hard concrete of one of Vancouver’s bike paths I was first aided by a young couple in-line skating in the opposite direction. Their response was kind, calm, and practical—reassuring to know that there are true good Samaritans out there. They called 911 and I quickly became very appreciative of the skills, compassion, and professionalism of a group of paramedics.