Happy Feet, Happy Life Blog

Mt. Hood Podiatry Blog

I practice in rural Oregon, which is drastically different from where I did my residency training. I was part of the largest podiatric medicine & surgery residency in the nation, in the largest city in the nation.

While I am grateful for the medical and surgical training I received, as it prepared me for the cases I would see in private practice, the one thing my training did not prepare me for was the interpersonal relationships I would build.

When I was in training if someone on our very large census succumbed to one of their co-morbid conditions, there was no time to grieve that life as we had to get through the rest of the census.

In private practice your patients want to know about you and celebrate your triumphs, and vice versa. My dog even comes to work with me as the practice therapy dog. Patients will call, ask for him and ask that we tell him that they love and miss him. This is the kind of practice and the kind of people we are.

Every so often we hear that someone has suffered a life altering event such as a stroke or a heart attack. Sometimes someone we have come to know and care about succumbs to one of their co-morbid conditions. That life was important and we take the time we need to grieve that person.

If any of my patients are open to making positive health changes, we discuss lifestyle changes (i.e. stress reduction, exercise, increasing whole plant foods) and I hand them a healthy resources sheet that has a list of books, websites and documentaries. Some take me up on my offer to look at these resources and start introducing changes. Others believe that it's too late for them, and that it's predestined in their genes. I try to impress upon patients that change is never easy, but making lifestyle changes that could reverse disease and give you extra healthy years is always worth it.

As we set upon our weekend, think about what you can do to bring some happiness and health to yourself and those in your circle.