: About Me

As a board-certified Family Physician and ER doctor, I was expected to adhere to what has become known, in the vernacular of Western medicine, as "the standard of care." It is a standard that's dictated by forces that have nothing to do with wellness.
As a solo country doc, I was guided by another code altogether: that of the teacher (after all, if you ask the Greeks, a "doctor" by any other name is still a teacher). I spent nearly two decades in the trenches of American health care before my eyes began to fail; most of that time was spent in an effort to help my patients understand what was happening to them... and what they could do about it. I learned a lot from the people who streamed through my door every day.
So who was the teacher, and who was the pupil?
An autoimmune illness is slowly eroding my ability to see, but the folks with whom I've rubbed shoulders over the years have given me a gift far greater than eyesight: they have endowed me with vision.
While I'm not the most enlightened individual on this road we travel, I'm a bit farther along than I would have been had I not walked for a while in the shoes of a healer.

My passion is ...

...learning. Each day hands me something I never knew before

I know too much about ...

...how little we doctors really know

My parents always told me ...

...anything worthwhile demands work and dedication

My childhood ambition ...

...to make it to adulthood - by no means guaranteed

My favorite memory ...

...the first time Tonya leaned down and kissed me through the truck's open window

Why I write ...

Writing opens my otherwise feeble consciousness to the universe

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Abbey; Twain; Kottke; John Williams; Chris Proctor; Segovia; Stevie Ray... (no TV, thank you)

My first job ...

One that paid? Paperboy at age 11

My best moment ...

...when Tonya and I tied the knot on board the Shawnodese on Lake Pend Oreille

My inspiration ...

...any day above dirt

Health & Fitness > Digestive Diseases Complications of pancreatitis

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Your pancreas is a long, teardrop-shaped organ which lies directly behind and beneath your stomach. Since it secretes hormones directly into your bloodstream and releases digestive enzymes into your intestine, your pancreas is considered both an endocrine (hormones) and an exocrine (enzymes) organ. Both of these functions can be impaired if your pancreas is injured. The pancreas supports digestion and metabolic balance Your pancreas manufactures and secretes several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon and somatostatin. Insulin and glucagon help to maintain normal blood glucose ...

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