Christmas 2003 I was deployed as a critical care air evacuation physician. Our mission was to safely transport critically wounded U.S. and allied troops from the battlefields of Southwest and Central Asia to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany—and from Germany back to the United States. Christmas Day 2003 was quiet at Ramstein Air Base.Continue reading “A Christmas Trip to Baghdad”
Author Archives: drsensintaffar
Cookies and Gratitude
I really love Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies. There are certainly better chocolate chip cookies—warm, soft and chewy, made with artisan chocolate, browned butter and fancy, flaked salt. But I really love these cookies. What separates them from all the others certainly isn’t taste. It’s the gratitude I feel when I eat one. Here’s why.Continue reading “Cookies and Gratitude”
Reminiscences of an Old Aviator
I was in a hurry. Five new admissions and a few consults the night before and just a few hours to see them all. As an attending physician on the family medicine residency inpatient team, I was supposed to meet with my team at nine for morning rounds. One of the new consults on myContinue reading “Reminiscences of an Old Aviator”
A Chainsaw Misdemeanor
Fall of 1988 We had just moved into a rental house in Hallsville, Missouri, just a few miles outside of Columbia. The house, a tiny, 2 bedroom ranch, wasn’t much to look at but at $250/month rent, it was within our budget. The house was just barely passable until the cold chill of early NovemberContinue reading “A Chainsaw Misdemeanor”
Of Prostates and Breasts
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Be aware. Get your mammogram. And then consider this. . . A few years ago I had a 50-something aged couple in my clinic. They were there for him this time and I was talking to the gentleman about recommended preventive screening. We got to the topic ofContinue reading “Of Prostates and Breasts”
The Pink Dress
May 1997 The families queued up in the early morning hours, lining up at the front door of the little church in the Caribbean coastal town of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. The line soon stretched around the side of the church and down the hot, dusty lane, out to the main road. They were there toContinue reading “The Pink Dress”
The Little Hand Beneath a Blue Drape
It invaded my sleep again a few nights ago, as it has dozens of times over the past twenty-five years. Maybe this time it was triggered by recent events in Las Vegas. Maybe it was the vicarious pain of friends who have suffered great loss. I don’t know. This time it wasn’t the full dream.Continue reading “The Little Hand Beneath a Blue Drape”
A Duct Tape Escapade
Fall, 1998. Marsure, Italy. Diana and I had just returned from dinner and a movie. We had left the kids (Gabe 15, Lee 12, Hannah 10, and Zoe 6) at home. We walked in through the front door into a quiet house around 11:30 pm. The kids were obviously asleep. To our left, on theContinue reading “A Duct Tape Escapade”
I am Spartacus!
My name is unusual. Years ago, there were 3 “Lowell Sensintaffars”—me, my grandfather, and a distant cousin. My grandfather and distant cousin have passed away, so now I’m the only one—the only Lowell Sensintaffar on the face of this earth. And this uniqueness presents its own challenges For example, the ritual of spelling my lastContinue reading “I am Spartacus!”
Luxury Cars, Gynecology, and Casual Conversation
We medical folks can be a strange group. I’ll admit it. Doctors and nurses discuss sensitive and delicate matters among ourselves with the same comfort others do sharing a recipe or discussing a recent sporting event. It is just the way we are. Here’s an example: Many years ago, I was at an Air ForceContinue reading “Luxury Cars, Gynecology, and Casual Conversation”
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