Space Holder Post

I do apologize, dear reader(s), for the dearth of postings lately. Green Acres has been just buzzing with business, and I seem to have little time or energy for much else. Well, that's not entirely true-- there's also been some skiing, lately. And I spent a whole afternoon tearing apart the Subaru's dashboard, installing a new radio, then realizing that I had somehow disconnected the heat.

I've been making extra work for myself at G.A., lately, by being more "aggressive" in trying to get treatment authorized for those who can't leave the hospital without it and guardians for those who can't make adequate decisions for themselves. Many patients are convinced that this is my favorite part of the job-- that I simply live for the joy of going to court to take away peoples' rights. The truth is, I hate it, and it exhausts me. My liberal mind fights with my doctor mind, my philosopher mind fights with my pragmatist mind, and my anti-authoritarian mind fights with my compassionate mind. The only thing worse than being pitted against your patient in a courtroom is hearing on the news that your patient froze to death, or was shot by police, or killed his brother.

Also, for some reason, I am currently trying to stay in touch with a record number of moms-of-patients. Generally I have a dozen patients at a time, and it's fairly rare that more than one or two family members are interested in their plight. But just now I have seven mothers (plus a few dads) actively involved and trying to keep tabs on what's happening. For the most part this is really very good. But it takes a lot of time to answer all the voicemails...