Caryn Flaherty

[Dr Dave Cartland BMedSc MBChB Ex-MRCGP @CartlandDavid]

From FB: I know the exact pressure it takes to crack a rib during CPR. But last Tuesday, I learned a patient’s silence can break a doctor’s soul.

His name was David Chen, but on my screen, he was "Male, 82, Congestive Heart Failure, Room 402." I spent seven minutes with him that morning. Seven minutes to check his vitals, listen to the fluid in his lungs, adjust his diuretics, and type 24 required data points into his Electronic Health Record. He tried to tell me something, gesturing toward a faded photo on his nightstand. I nodded, said "we'll talk later," and moved on. There was no billing code for "talk later."

Mr. Chen died that afternoon. As a nurse quietly cleared his belongings, she handed me the photo. It was him as a young man, beaming, his arm around a woman, standing before a small grocery store with "CHEN'S MARKET" painted on the window.

The realization hit me like a physical blow. I knew his ejection fraction and his creatinine levels. I knew his insurance provider and his allergy to penicillin. But I didn't know his wife's name or that he had built a life from nothing with his own two hands. I hadn’t treated David Chen. I had managed the decline of a failing organ system. And in the sterile efficiency of it all, I had lost a piece of myself.

The next day, I bought a small, black Moleskine notebook. It felt like an act of rebellion.

My first patient was Eleanor Gable, a frail woman lost in a sea of white bedsheets, diagnosed with pneumonia. I did my exam, updated her chart, and just as I was about to leave, I paused. I turned back from the door.

"Mrs. Gable," I said, my voice feeling strange. "Tell me one thing about yourself that’s not in this file."

Her tired eyes widened in surprise. A faint smile touched her lips. "I was a second-grade teacher," she whispered. "The best sound in the world... is the silence that comes just after a child finally reads a sentence on their own."

I wrote it down in my notebook. Eleanor Gable: Taught children how to read.

I kept doing it. My little black book began to fill with ghosts of lives lived.

Frank Miller: Drove a yellow cab in New York for 40 years.
Maria Flores: Her mole recipe won the state fair in Texas, three years running.
Sam Jones: Proposed to his wife on the Kiss Cam at a Dodgers game.

Something began to change. The burnout, that heavy, gray cloak I’d been wearing for years, started to feel a little lighter. Before entering a room, I’d glance at my notebook. I wasn’t walking in to see the "acute pancreatitis in 207." I was walking in to see Frank, who probably had a million stories about the city. My patients felt it too. They'd sit up a little straighter. A light would flicker back in their eyes. They felt seen.

The real test came with Leo. He was 22, angry, and refusing dialysis for a condition he’d brought on himself. He was a "difficult patient," a label that in hospital-speak means "we've given up." The team was frustrated.

I walked into his room and sat down, leaving my tablet outside. We sat in silence for a full minute. I didn't look at his monitors. I looked at the intricate drawings covering his arms.

"Who's your artist?" I asked.

He scoffed. "Did 'em myself."

"They're good," I said. "This one... it looks like a blueprint."

For the first time, his gaze lost its hard edge. "Wanted to be an architect," he muttered, "before... all this."

We talked for twenty minutes about buildings, about lines, about creating something permanent. We didn't mention his kidneys once. When I stood up to leave, he said, so quietly I almost missed it, "Okay. We can try the dialysis tomorrow."

Later that night, I opened my Moleskine. I wrote: Leo Vance: Designs cities on paper.

The system I work in is designed to document disease with thousands of data points. It logs every cough, every pill, every lab value. It tells the story of how a body breaks down.

My little black book tells a different story. It tells the story of why a life mattered.

[(Matt) The Bearded Photog 🦬 @beardedphotog24]

This is the first time I’ve seen the jersey he was wearing that night … thank you to all healthcare workers and first responders. I have no other words

[Ghost of Whip @GhostofWhip]

• Pitt Volleyball is ranked #1 in the country
• Pitt Men’s Soccer is ranked #1 in the country
• Pitt Women’s Soccer is ranked #15 in the country
• Pitt Football is 5-0 and ranked #22 in the country

Damn it feels good to be a Panther #H2P

[Vintage Los Angeles @alisonmartino]

This made me cry

[Caryn Flaherty @cflar]

@bad2theallibone Best wishes to you, Matt! You will be missed! Thank you for all of the support and attention you have given our athletes, teams and community for these years!!!

[Funko POP Hunters @FunkoPopHunters]

Jason Kelce confirms on his podcast New Heights that he will be teaming up with Funko to make a shirt that will benefit the Patricia Allen Fund at Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo. #nfl #ChiefsKingdom #FlyEaglesFly #buffalobills #newheights @newheightshow

[LeShawn Jerman @warloc6]

Game of The Week!!! We have waited a long time to get KC in our building. @TickPick wants to bless a lucky fan with 2 amazing field level seats🤩. All you have to do is retweet this and follow @TickPick . I will select the Top 20 Friday at noon and the winner at 5pm. #BillsMafia

[JoJo @Joanna_716_]

Aweeeee 💕 Letter from a Steeler’s fan to Bills mafia

[MLFootball @MLFootball]

BREAKING:

There are no assigned seats today at Highmark Stadium for the #Bills, #Steelers playoff game, the league announced.

You can sit wherever you’d like, for the first time in modern day #NFL history.

🔥🔥🔥

[Bulldogs Basketball @WestYorkHoops]

We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Spike. Spike was the definition of a true Bulldog. He was the heart of West York sports and he will be greatly missed. @GoWYBulldogs

[Trainer Dave @TrainerDaveATC]

My heartbreaks for the @GoWYBulldogs community. Spike was a great person and I always enjoyed my time with him. RIP Spike! You surely left a wonderful legacy at West York!

[BOCATC @BOCATC]

A beloved South Florida #AthleticTrainer received a sweet surprise from students who said she’s made an impact in their lives. https://t.co/5J2aSsqZfA #at4all #athletictraining

[Jacob Gill @Coach_JGill]

Great night w/ @dawson_knox youth football camp @baeagles & @theBAFootball! Always fun when our alumni come back & spend time w/ the #BAFamily. Thanks to all who helped organize / volunteer. Let’s do it again next year!

[Josh Allen @JoshAllenQB]

A childhood dream come true 🙏

#Madden24 | #EAathlete

[Konner Beste @KonnerBeste]

Dawn Staley calls a timeout for an injured player on the other team.

“It was the right thing to do.”

Great example of leadership.

[South Western GBB @SouthWesternGBB]

Unbelievable… our girl is off to The Final Four! Congratulations to Taylor and her VT teammates

[Trainer Dave @TrainerDaveATC]

Our newest Eagle (well technically Patriot) has arrived! Mia Jean App was born in 3/21/23. Mom and baby are doing very well!

[South Western GBB @SouthWesternGBB]

Congratulations Taylor Geiman and The Virginia Tech Hokies.. ACC Champions!

[Historic Vids @historyinmemes]

Everyone you meet always asks if you have a career, are married or own a house; as if life was some kind of grocery list. But nobody ever asks if you are happy. - Heath Ledger

[Hy Bender @hybender]

Mom, who's a physics teacher, accepts a challenge from her son, who's a soccer player, to move a mini-soccer ball