It was a mystery to mom: her 10 year-old, autistic boy suddenly was rubbing his eyes and crying. When she pried his hands away, she saw that his eyes were red with swollen lids, and he obviously hurt. Was it allergies? Did pink…
I was checking out The Running of the Bulls on the internet yesterday. If you haven't heard, that's a festival in Pamplona, Spain where they set bulls loose in the streets of the city. Thrill-seekers get chased by the bulls, and…
This week's guest columnists are Dr. Kevin Morris and Dr. Richard Pearson, Family Practice residents at the University Health Center here in Lafayette. Dr. Morris is a former paramedic, and knows of what he speaks: It's warming…
She really was in a fix. She spoke only spanish. She was a teenager alone in this country with only her father, and he was pretty mad right now. She was having belly pain and didn't understand why- until I broke it to them that…
It was 5 o'clock, July 2, 1991. I know the date and time because it was the end of my first 36 hour shift as Chief Resident. And it was a true 36 hour shift, not a wink of sleep, with sick kids piling into the hospital like we…
It really wasn't the boy's fault. He was playing in his yard when a stray dog wandered over. The dog jumped up and bit the boy on the side of his face. The dog fled and Animal Control couldn't find it. Rabies is in the area and…
On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the icy Potomac River in Washington during take-off. Joe Stiley, one of the few survivors, saw the crash coming, seeing out his window how the plane was falling to the river…
A lot of my columns are about how to keep your child out of the Pediatric Emergency Department. Possible fractures, though, are one time where coming in is the best move. More on this from our two guest columnists, Dr. Nicole…
This week's guest columnist is Dr. Matthew Whittington, a third year resident in the Family Practice program at the University Health Center here in Lafayette. We see a lot of burns in the Pediatric Emergency Department, mostly…
Today's Guest Columnist is Dr. John Giuffreda, a family practice resident at the University Health Center here in Lafayette. It happens too often: mom takes baby out of the car seat because she is fussy, dad takes his eyes off…
Summer is coming. I last wrote about swimming safety, and two more popular summer activities for kids need to be addressed: biking and jumping on trampolines. Bike safety is nothing new to me. I grew up with a Dad who was a…
One day the ambulance brought in a 13 year-old who had almost drowned in a local hotel pool. He was awake on arrival, but everyone had a good scare. The pool had a deep end but no lifeguard. The boy could not swim, the parents…