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Mayhem, Miracles, and Meaning – Finding Humanity in Modern Medicine’s High-Tech End-of-Life Ritual

Baltimore, MD – Those who have been up close for CPR know both the power, relief, and the anguish that can come along with a procedure that sometimes delivers incredible results but always carries tremendous significance for patients and families. While CPR used in the right context saves lives, CPR was never intended to reverse […]

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Mapping the end . . .

For years, doctors have been encouraging patients to plan ahead for the end of their lives. Unfortunately, even the best laid plans don’t always match the realities we face when our time grows short. People change their minds, values shift, and sometimes serious illness doesn’t look like what someone imagined. Despite the twists and turns […]

Profit, Puns, and Lasting Love

It’s been a busy few months, so I’m reminding myself to update my website with what’s been going on. We continue to enjoy adjusting to life in Baltimore, although crab-cakes are very pricey right now, so we’re waiting for an easing in the over-inflated crab market before we really dive in. It’s a city that […]

Blood or Tears

Why do we doctors feel more comfortable with blood than with tears?

The Weight of Caring at Home

I wrote/drew this opinion piece for the LA Times two years ago, right before COVID drastically changed the landscape of… well, everything. Unfortunately, care for seriously ill loved ones has not gotten any easier during the pandemic, and patients and families still often struggle to meet the demands of illness in their living rooms. Now […]

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 […]

Dr. Lister vs. Hand-washing Hesitancy

*Dr. Joseph Lister did, in fact, encounter resistance and hesitancy as he shared his findings with the world. His introduction of antiseptic technique resulted in a tremendous drop in the risk of dying from surgery, but he faced skepticism both about his technique and about the broader foundations of germ theory in general. His initial […]

HOUSE HUNTERS: Nursing Facility DreamHome Edition

*As a palliative care doctor, I often spend time working alongside families that are trying to navigate the minefield of facility-based care. Whether they are learning the rules and coverage options for short-term rehab or trying to figure out how to arrange long-term care at an assisted living facility or nursing home, our country’s options […]

A New Season…?

As still another season dawns in this blur of a year, it’s been wonderful to see our COVID case counts fall here and to watch some of our hospital COVID units being converted back to regular medical wards. While we also keep a wary eye on the numbers and advocate for patients and places around […]

Medical Purgatory

As patients with COVID continue to fill emergency departments around the country, our ICU’s are increasingly filling with patients who are trapped in the hospital from complications of the virus. My latest illustrated Op-Ed for the LA Times highlights the plight of those trapped in medical purgatory. See the article HERE. Nathan A. Gray, MD.