Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Myron Yaster MD
Happy holidays from the executive council of the Pediatric Anesthesia Article of the Day! In celebration of the day, we are reposting the Gratitude PAAD published yesterday.
In today’s PAAD we are reposting comments from our readers on what they are grateful for. And special shout out to Dr. Norah Janosy and Dr. Rebecca Margolis, the PAAD’s editors for wellness articles who came up with this brilliant idea.
Anne Lynn MD Happy Holidays. I am grateful for:
having a long career caring for children and seeing their resilience
for my husband's enthusiastic support always for my endeavors
for my peers, both within my group locally and nationally, many of whom I consider valued friends
for my daughter, son-in-law and grandson for letting me be very involved in their lives
for the profound changes in medicine that have occurred during my career creating care pathways not known when I began practice.
That's probably more than enough, eh? Hope you and yours are thriving and 2023 is good for us all. All the best, Anne
Jamie McElrath Schwartz, MD: I’m grateful for my children – healthy and thriving. Also for working with exceptional people who care about each other, our patients and our mission. Also, I am grateful that there are birds in my yard – including a barred owl and red tailed hawk – that I can watch every day.
Nick Karakhalis MD: I am sincerely grateful to you for your careful attitude to the memory of my friend Ron LITMAN, for your professionalism and live and emotional communication!
Jina Sinskey, MD, FASA: I am grateful for the amazing pediatric anesthesiologists at SPA who take incredible care of sick children and work tirelessly to move the field forward. I am also grateful for the WELI program, which has allowed me to build lasting relationships that bring me great joy. Last but not least, I am truly grateful for my wonderful colleagues at UCSF, who are my extended family and make every day a better one.
Ricky Missett, CHOP: More than anything in this world, I am thankful for the health of my children.
Amy Vinson MD: More than anything, I am grateful for relationships. Connections. The little things when people go out of their way, whether by a swerve or a detour, to help another are, for me, the little miracles that keep this scattered world on a course for good. I am profoundly grateful for my wife and every deepening of our connections with each other. And I am grateful to be there to watch my son grow into the beautiful person he will be.
Judit Szolnoki MD: It is always a joy to read the daily PAAD and I love your topic selections. Your advocacy for female leaders is represented well in today’s article and I wanted to send a note of appreciation: Thank you, I appreciate all the support I personally received from you, and your advocacy to elevate women.
Jerry Y. Chao, MD, MS: I am grateful for the health and happiness of my children! Happy Hanukkah to you and yours and all my best wishes—Jerry
Faye Evans MD: This year I am grateful for my colleagues around the world working to make anesthesia and surgery safer for every child. I am honored to be a Board member of the nonprofit Lifebox, that works with a global network of healthcare providers to address the critical gaps in surgical and anesthesia safety through tools, training, and partnerships. This year marked the ten - plus one - years of saving lives through safer surgery. In this time Lifebox has made surgery safer for 181 million patients, trained 12,000 healthcare providers and distributed 33,000 pulse oximeters worldwide - all essential for safe anesthesia care. We are now working with our partner Smile Train to make available a low-cost, high quality capnograph specifically to meet the needs of pediatric patients in low-resource settings.
With your support, anything is possible. Make a gift to Lifebox to make surgery and anesthesia safer for every patient, every time. Donate before the end of December and your gift will be matched. https://bit.ly/LifeboxDonate
Meera Gangadharan, MD, FASA, FAAP: I am grateful …………………
To be living in America
To the people who have shown me kindness
To the people who gave me a chance
And a second chance
To the people who held me to a high standard
Who told me when I was wrong
I am grateful that there is a warm tight reliable hug waiting for me at home when I return from work
Grateful for all of you and for PAAD and for having known and been taught by Dr. Litman. I could go on and on ...but I will stop here. Have a wonderful holiday season.
Stephanie Black, MD, EdM: I’m so very thankful for the community of remarkable people I’ve had the privilege to befriend and work alongside through CHOP and SPA, particularly through WELI. My colleagues continue to inspire me in ways big and small every day—I am in awe of our seemingly endless passion, enthusiasm, curiosity and commitment. I’m also unbelievably grateful for the joy I find in caring for children (even the scary ones), and for the enormous gift that every parent offers each time they entrust their child to me. I’m grateful to witness and be a small part of the growth of the most remarkable cohort of learners, and to watch them develop their expertise and to see them for years to come at SPA. I’m also thankful to my very own Little People, whose company I enjoy tremendously and as I go work give me high fives and call out “Go take care of those babies, mom!”
Dr. Robert Shontz: I am grateful that our Lord came to earth in human flesh as Jesus Christ so that those who believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life. I look forward to living in Heaven with Him into Eternity!
Leelach Rothschild Dekoven MD I have so so so many things to be grateful for...This year, I am especially grateful for my health and the healing support and generosity of my family, friends, community, and colleagues at UIC and Shriners. I recognize my great fortune and my blessings - I am extremely lucky AND grateful! I am grateful for many new friends and an incredible network of colleagues that I have met through SPA and WELI that have mentored me, sponsored me, believed in me, and have listened to me on many occasions as I sort through the "why's" of my life. Thank you.
Anita Honkanen MD: The list of life’s gifts is too long to write!
My family – near and far, keep my heart whole
My pets – hairy and happy, make me smile every day
My friends – caring and compassionate, understand when life gets hard
My colleagues – dedicated and supportive, share the challenges we all face
My workplace – purposeful and thriving, provides a living and a reason to live
My community – friendly and welcoming, helps me feel safe and at home
My Professional Societies – inspiring and educational, opens my eyes to so many possibilities
My Country – despite It’s challenges lately, the democracy with the most potential to lead the way for the world
And this earth – that holds us all in it’s bountiful hands, I pray that we learn to care for it as well as it cares for us
I am incredibly grateful for them all. Every day. Happy Holidays to you all.
Malgorzata "Gosia" Lutwin-Kawalec, MD, FAAP: I’m grateful for my Patients and their Families, particularly for the challenging and complex ones. I’m learning never to treat them as a burden but to grow in compassion and learn from their humility & perseverance.
Laura Berenstain MD, FASA, ACC: As always I'm grateful this year for a healthy, happy, and growing family who support me wholeheartedly. They are my bedrock. I'm grateful for my anesthesia community and those I get to work with on an assortment of projects related to leadership, coaching, and well-being. Big warm hugs to all of you! I'm grateful to be a peds cardiac anesthesiologist AND a leadership coach AND a master's degree student AND a mom, wife,grandmother and friend. Here's to 2023, and using good boundaries to help enjoy all of life, not just work.
Emad B Mossad, MD: I am grateful for the team of anesthesiologists, CRNAs, Anesthesia technicians I work with every day. This is truly my work "family". I have their backs and they have mine. I am as much grateful for the parents who put their trust and their child every day in our hands. What they are going thru is rather challenging, and yet they embrace the faith that we, the care providers will treat their cloved ones like our own. What a privilege and a joy to be in this profession
Rita Agarwal MD, FAAP, FASA: So grateful for my beautiful sons and knowing that they are safe, warm and have food to eat. I am grateful that we were able to spend a wonderful family vacation at Lake Tahoe this past summer with my mother and my children’s only living grandparent. Finally, I am truly y grateful that I work in an amazing department, in a beautiful, inspiring place, with incredibly supportive people.
Dale Szpisjak: I am grateful for family, friends, health, and the opportunities to serve.
Scott D. Markowitz, MD, MSOL : I am grateful for the opportunity to share in the work of repairing the world, and the many, many people with whom I work and all of those others who influence the atmosphere that surrounds me and my loved ones with support, collegiality, and health.
Sabina A. Khan, MD: The attached article, Gratitude - Keeping My Plate Full is a personal reflection of my experiences as a pediatric anesthesiologist and the role that gratitude has played in my life and career. In this article I discuss my journey to becoming a physician, including struggles as an immigrant and a mother with a child who was diagnosed with leukemia. I highlight the importance of teamwork and the support and compassion of others in helping me through difficult times. The article also discusses my work as a pediatric anesthesiologist, including the challenges and successes I have experienced. Throughout the article, I emphasizes the role that gratitude has played in helping me overcome challenges and find joy and fulfillment in my work.
file:///C:/Users/myast/Dropbox/PC/Downloads/GratitudeASAMonitor.pdf
Rebecca Margolis, DO, FAOCA "I am grateful for the true community of pediatric anesthesiologists I have come to know and develop relationships with because of SPA & WELI. Many of these relationships transcend anesthesia and will be friends for life. I am also extremely grateful for my colleagues @ CHLA who despite the insanity of healthcare continue to RUN to stat calls and help during difficult cases--anesthesia is way more fun as a team sport."
Norah R. Janosy, MD, FAAP: I am grateful for my friends and family. I am grateful that I have been blessed with good health and surrounded by people who love and encourage me. I am grateful for the challenges life has given me because they have made me who I am. I am grateful for the opportunity to do meaningful, important work with brilliant passionate colleagues. I am grateful for the precious moments I get to spend with my children.”
Renee Kreeger, MD: Professionally, I am grateful for the pediatric anesthesia community of talented people who work diligently to care for their patients and their colleagues. I am especially grateful for my fellow cardiac anesthesiologists at Cincinnati Children’s who demonstrate daily their clinical acumen and unwavering support for their fellow team members. Personally, I am grateful for my loving family and my health, both of which I try very hard not to take for granted. Lastly, I am grateful to the entire PAAD leadership team and all of the contributors for their hard work. It is a true gift to all of us.
Mofya Diallo: I am grateful for my husband who has supported me through another year of unprecedented changes while caring for our young children, colleagues who are there with me for our patients and mentors who continue to guide me and encourage me to follow my dreams.
Myron Yaster MD I am a first generation American and am grateful to this country and the good citizens of the City and State of New York who through their taxes paid for my graduate education and enabled me to become a Doctor. I am eternally grateful to the late Dr. Ron Litman and his wife Daphne who allowed me to continue the Pediatric Anesthesia Article of the Day in his memory. It has been a professional lifeline after my catastrophic experiences at the Children’s Hospital Colorado. Finally, I am grateful to my family, both biologic (Pam, Ben, Jake, Suzy, Ilana, and Aaron) and professional…my SPA brothers and sisters who make each day a joy.