Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!

After a prolonged hiatus, I am somewhat settled in at my new location. Anyone who watched television in the past month should surmise from the above picture that I am now residing in Cajun country. I've been busy getting settled into my place, untangling my medical school loan repayments, satisfying my medical license requirements, and adjusting to life in a new city.

I would have liked to stay in the great state of Mississippi, but better opportunities were available to me here in LA. I'm hoping to stay abreast of MS issues through my friends and their blogs. Given my absence, I should have plenty to catch up on.

The majority of things here do not seem too dissimilar from life on the MS gulf coast to which I am accustomed. College football is king. Seafood is highly rated and fiercely defended. Religion permeates almost all aspects of life. The weather is tumultuous from day to day with snow on Friday and t-shirt weather on Monday.

I am working at an emergency room within the charity hospital system. This system supports a couple of hospitals around the state, the most famous being Charity Hospital in New Orleans. The original Charity Hospital was established in 1736 and this system has continued to provide medical care to the poor and indigent of the state of Louisiana.

Do we allow beliefs a free pass?

Daniel Hauser is a 13 year old Minnesota boy diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He and his parents have decided to forgo chemotherapy and radiation therapy after one round of treatment due to their religious beliefs. They follow the religion/cult of Nemenhah that proscribes the use of Native American 'alternative' remedies and supplements and wish to pursue these.


His parents' decision would be in Daniel's best interest if they did not fly in the face of all of modern medicine. Yes, there is a delicate balance between physician and guardian as advocate for the patient. However, physicians a a fiduciary duty to speak up for patients when they think that the patient's quality of life and/or health are not being represented in the best way.

It is a somewhat personal decision on the physicians part whether to seek out a judicial ruling on something like this. It is noted that according to his physicians, his Hodgkin's Lymphoma has a 90% cure rate with treatment. This is a cure, not just extending his life for a few months or a year while he experiences a poor quality of life. He quit the treatment after only one round because of the side effects. Those painful side effects are evidence that the chemo is doing what it is supposed to do.

Now, are he and his parents making an informed medical decision that is in the best interest of the child's health? No. The Nemenhah belief that 'natural' remedies and supplements can be used to treat AIDS and cancer are not scientifically founded. These have not been shown to alter, treat, or ameliorate the effects of Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

1. Children do not have the capacity to make medical decisions. If you do not like this, change the legal age of becoming an adult.

2. Parents do not have the right to make medical decisions which will likely kill their child.

Why be an Atheist...Condoms?

On occasion I am asked why I am an atheist. Typically, this question is couched in a discussion of Pascal's Wager. My usual answer involves a dearth of evidence, but I sometimes provide specific examples where a religion or belief causes harm.

Today, Pope Benedict XVI began his tour of Africa in Cameroon. As 'the' representative of Catholicism he upholds the tenets of this brand of Christianity, one of which is abstaining from condom use. This view is based on the belief that sex is meant for procreation and anything that in any way hinders procreation is 'sinful'. While this is unfortunate given the number of unwanted pregnancies, I find it morally repugnant given the HIV epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa.



The Pope reaffirmed the Catholic ban on condom use, in a continent with over 22 million AIDS sufferers. While I am unconcerned with the majority of Catholic doctrine, I do take issue with their banning one of the methods that can help prevent the spread of this disease. Is Rome any more concerned for the millions of orphaned children due to AIDS or the maintenance of rigid doctrine? I think he has shown the church's stance on this.

Now I have one more reason to be glad to be an atheist, as I can use condoms and a bit of common sense to prevent acquiring AIDS.

Arkansas Physician Injured in Bomb Blast

Dr. Trent Pierce, the chairman of the Arkansas Medical Board, has been hospitalized in Memphis this morning after an explosion ripped through the front of his car. The explosion occured about 8:00 AM today and neighbors reported hearing a large boom. The ATF is involved in the investigation and reports having found evidence of a bomb.

I'll admit that when I saw the headline this morning, I thought that another abortion clinic had been bombed or that a physician who provides them was targeted. It does not happen frequently, but when it does, it makes the front page news.













However, reading through the article I discovered that Dr. Pierce is a family practitioner, just your regular ole' family doc. For the life of me, I could not think of any service that a family practitioner provides that is contentious among radical religious, economic, or political groups. Surely, there is not a group of people out there that are so offended by circumcisions that they would blow up someone's car.













I did a bit of looking around and discovered that family practitioners can prescribe mifepristone, the infamous RU486 abortion pill, in the state of Arkansas. I can not find any information on the type of practice he has, except that he has privilages at Crittenden Regional Hospital in West Memphis, AR. All of the cases of this kind of domestic terrorism involved those who performed the abortion procedure, their staff, or the clinics where they took place. I have never seen someone targeted for offering medication that may cause a spontaneous abortion.

Another scenario is Dr. Pierce's involvement in the medical board, which is involved in physician licensing in the state. He only votes on the board's decisions in the case of a tie. Lawyer's for the board of medicine cannot recall an instance of this being needed in recent years. This seems to make the "disgruntled doctor" seeking revenge an improbable explanation.

Perhaps this was just a random act of violence.

Going to the Dentist Can Be Funny

I remember having my wisdom teeth removed many years ago and behaving somewhat similar to this kid. My brother drove me home from the dentist's office, but thankfully he did not have a video camera.