http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/rachel_sobel RSS Feed for Inq Col Rachel Sobel en-us Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/rachel_sobel/20091109_Scrubbing_In__Importance_of_spelling_out_last_wishes.html My 87-year-old patient fell at her nursing home in West Chester and was quite black and blue when she arrived at the Wills Eye Emergency Room. Her eye had borne the brunt of it. Stitches around an old corneal transplant had ripped open as well as those from an old cataract wound. If that didn't get repaired in 24 hours, she risked getting a serious infection. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/rachel_sobel/20091109_Scrubbing_In_.html Rachel K. Sobel, a third-year resident of the Wills Eye Residency Program at Thomas Jefferson University, writes about her experiences every other week. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/rachel_sobel/20091026_Scrubbing_In__Taller_people_get_perks_with_the_pain.html Our attending physician made a special effort to gather the residents for an "interesting case" in the pediatrics clinic. A boy who seemed about 10 years old had "ectopia lentis," or dislocated lenses. It's a condition associated with Marfan syndrome, affecting kids born with genetic defects involving a protein called fibrillin. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/rachel_sobel/20091012_Scrubbing_In__It_s_swine_flu_we_should_fear__not_the_vaccine_that_saves_us.html The swine-flu bug is in the air. A flu type last seen memorably in 1976, it's an alarmingly catchy strand. I was born in 1977, so I don't have any natural resistance to it. My kids are 6 weeks old and almost 4. And once my maternity leave is over in two weeks, I'll be working every day in a hospital or medical office, where the chances of exposure are high. So it won't surprise you to know that I'm eager to get vaccinated. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/rachel_sobel/20090928_Scrubbing_In__Restored_to_sight_as_a_final_gift.html My patient had seen only light and shadows for seven months. She came to me one day this past summer for an evaluation. She navigated the clinic with one arm locked onto her daughter's and the other arm outstretched so she wouldn't run into anything. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/rachel_sobel/20090831_Scrubbing_In__The_scary_side_effects_of_pills_to_hasten_sleep.html My patient was having a relaxed Shore weekend. She drank a few margaritas spaced out over a few hours, ate dinner, and then got into bed.