all HAnds on Deck

Because of the COVID surge here in Los Angeles, many sub-specialty doctors have been called in to help in the wards and/or screen patients in the hospital. Typically, we are in our outside clinics or operating rooms, but with many shut down or down-booked for safety, we have been diverted to help our overwhelmed primary care and emergency colleagues.

Today was my turn in the "surge pool," and I am not going to lie - I was incredibly nervous. As an eye doctor, it's been a while since I last had to deal with respiratory issues, back pains, or tonsil stones (yep, dealt with some of those today). Plus dealing with COVID and vaccine questions are not my primary specialty.

Was it daunting? Yes. Was it outside my comfort zone? You bet. I had to admit more than once that I didn't have all the answers, and I asked a lot of questions myself... But in the end, I was honored to help my colleagues.

Throughout this pandemic, I have always felt that we were all in this together. (Literally) getting together over the holidays is likely what worsened this surge here in LA, but working together to educate, protect, and help one another is what will get us through... 🙏🏼

#liveVICTORIOUS✌🏼

Purple for Unity

Did anyone else notice all the purple today during the Inauguration Ceremony?

I looked it up and while historically purple symbolizes royalty and a color of the women’s suffrage movement, it is also a combination of red and blue as a sign of unity. ❤️💙💜🇺🇸

#liveVICTORIOUS✌🏼 #inaugurationday2021

My Favorite part about Ophthalmology

I often get asked: What is my favorite part about ophthalmology? 👁

It's easy: I love the variety.

I spend most of my time helping patients in clinic - counseling them and giving them tips to improve their vision and eye health. I do eye examinations and interpret testing and images. And I prescribe drops and medications for eye diseases.

If warranted, I can also do lasers and procedures, and when necessary perform surgery to improve or save someone's vision. I love being able to “do it all” for most of my patients.

Because every day and patient can be different, and I rarely feel bored. It’s what drew me to the specialty as a student and it keeps me sharp to this day. I couldn't SEE myself doing anything else.

COVID Vaccine myths and truths

For many healthcare professionals, it is extremely frustrating to hear all the glaring, false misinformation surrounding COVID vaccines. These vaccines are our best shot at putting an end to this pandemic, but where do these myths even come from? Here are the actual truths behind some of the more common ones:

It does NOT causes infertility - This myth likely arose from a letter supposedly from the “head of Pfizer” (in reality from 2 non-Pfizer affiliated individuals) claiming that the vaccine could cause “female sterilization” because the targeted COVID spike protein is similar to a protein in placental development. The science behind this claim is false - there is not enough similarity between these proteins to cause any confusion in your body.

It does NOT have a microchip. - This rumor likely arose in an interview in March when Bill Gates mentioned that vaccine records may eventually be available as "digital certificates” (vs the paper ones we have now). There was no mention of "microchips" but given his tech associations, one could see the jump.

It does NOT alter your DNA - Unfortunately with similar abbreviations, many may confuse DNA and RNA, but in reality they are 2 different entities with 2 different jobs in our bodies. DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. It resides in the nucleus of our cells and carries all our genetic information. RNA stands for ribonucleic acid and generally functions in a cell’s cytoplasm outside the nucleus. The mRNA of the COVID vaccine will never come in contact with your DNA.

It can NOT give you COVID - Many people have reported transient headaches, body aches, and fevers following their COVID vaccines. While these symptoms could be misinterpreted as being “sick,” they are actually a very normal reaction and signs that your immune system is healthy and responding to the vaccine.

It does NOT have fetal tissue in it. - The COVID vaccine does not have any aborted fetal cells or tissue in it. However the confusion may have come from the fact that there was some early research with lab generated “fetal cell lines” (which are not the same).

It can NOT cause autism or cancer - The autism myth arose in 1998 when a paper was published falsely linking it to the MMR vaccine. The paper has been since invalidated numerous times, and the doctor who conducted the original “research” has had his license revoked. There is no evidence that the COVID vaccine causes autism or cancer.

I for one am so grateful for the work and research that has gone into this vaccine. I am optimistic that #thisisourshot to ending this prolonged pandemic.

#liveVICTORIOUS #doctormom #covidvaccine #covid19vacccine

Happy New Year!

OK so we had a little holiday card snafu this year. They were supposed to arrive the day before Christmas (just in time to be sent out as New Years cards )...

...buuuut fast forward to yesterday - the company was still having production issues and our cards hadn’t been printed yet. So even though it’s been a yearly tradition for us to send out holidays cards (and I felt extra important this year given the distance ) - instead of getting (more) upset and stressing out about mailing cards super late, I just let it all go and cancelled our order.

We all have had to make many adjustments these past few months - and while some things are important (like our health, well being, and safety), others just aren't worth dragging into 2021 (like holding on to disappointment, expectations, or anger)...

What are you bringing into the New Year? And what are you leaving behind?

Happy New Year, friends! (Here is what we had planned to send out. We may never go back to real ones...!!! )

COVID Vaccine: dose #1

Had some questions about how the vaccine process was, so made a quick video. Hope it’s helpful!

Also a quick 2 day post vaccine update: I had a pretty sore arm for 1 day (I actually couldn’t sleep on that side overnight), but that is much better now. Have not experienced any headaches, fevers, or fatigue (well not any more than my baseline... #momlife)