Closing a Chapter

DURHAM, NC – When it comes to updating a website, I landed on Santa’s lump-of-coal list for yet another year. In my defense, it’s been a busy one. Apart from the usual pandemic chaos which continues to upend all of our lives, my spouse Bethany and I, along with our loyal pup Lily, have been actively prepping for a move to Baltimore in just a few short days for new jobs at Johns Hopkins (actually just Bethany and I will be working… the dog remains blissfully unemployed). While we’re excited about turning the next page, it means closing a chapter behind us. Our story in North Carolina has been packed with generous friends, unbelievable biscuits, kind mentors, and unexpected adventures; for all of these we are incredibly grateful.

Professionally, this is the place where I have continued to grow up in medicine. I came to Duke eight and a half years ago with more hair (as my initial faculty headshot attests) and with an excitement about the idea of training and practicing as a palliative care doctor. I arrived a bit burned out and with a lot of misconceptions about what it would mean to inhabit the world of palliative care. While I have lost much of my hair along with my false notions, I’ve gained something better… the privilege of learning more every day about how to walk alongside folks struggling with serious illness.

Those who work with me regularly could tell you that I still have more growing up to do, but I’m grateful for the ways that I have been shaped and inspired by my time here and by the docs, nurses, PT’s, RT’s, Chaplains, SW’s, CNA’s, PhD’s, patients, and families who have given of themselves to help me grow.

By way of tribute, I wanted to share a few pages (from a larger work in progress) that take me back to my first visit to campus to interview and to a conversation I had with the indomitable Dr. Tony Galanos.

Best wishes for a fruitful and fulfilling 2022.

(Disclaimer: These pages will read best on a tablet or desktop due to the small text size.)