Scorching days promise to continue in Southern California, with August generally the region’s hottest month. High temperatures, alone, increase the risk of heat-related illness. However, people who take many common medications face even greater danger of suffering serious health effects. Since they typically take multiple medications, people age 65 and older and those with chronic health conditions may be especially vulnerable.
Struggling to breathe, the patient is rushed to the emergency department. The emergency physician orders a chest X-ray, which rules out pneumonia and other chest-related diseases. Next, the patient undergoes an ultrasound to check for a clot in his legs and a CT scan to look for clots in his chest. The CT scan reveals a pulmonary embolism — a clot in the arteries sending blood to the lungs. He then goes to the interventional radiology suite, where physicians pinpoint and remove his clot.
“At this point, the patient has undergone four modalities of imaging: X-ray, ultrasound, CT and interventional radiology,” notes Khalid Shariff, Torrance Memorial Medical Center’s director of imaging services. “Thanks to the skill of practitioners and advances in technology, the patient is able to go home the same day he experienced what was previously a fatal condition.”
The mixed media oil on canvas, entitled Zolofting, included a pill container, disassembled pill capsules and an MRI image. The accompanying description discussed how the anti-depressant Zoloft and therapy helped the artist overcome depression. A pencil drawing of a blue jay came with an explanation from the illustrator noting, “Being in this program has made me rethink how I define success and has presented me with various scenarios where I’ve had to find greater peace by letting go of the illusion of perfectionism.”
These were two of the pieces conceived and created by UCLA School of Nursing MSN students as part of their Mental Health, Mental Illness and Psychiatric Nursing course curriculum.
It’s a Friday morning, which means Marci Klein is catching the waves in Redondo Beach. There’s plenty of work waiting for her at the office, but Friday mornings are reserved for surfing, which feels as vital to her as, well, water.
Swimming gave Melody Lomboy-Lowe solace when she underwent cancer treatment from ages 6 to 9. “It gave me a sense of normalcy,” says the now 44-year-old mother of three. “Even if I was sick and in the hospital for chemo one day, I might feel strong in the water the next day.”
Sarina Brar Pai, DO, knows whether a woman comes for a screening mammogram, breast ultrasound or biopsy, she’s likely to feel some fear and trepidation. Dr. Pai has made it her mission to assure her patients that along with receiving excellent medical attention, they will be enveloped in caring arms.
On a pre-COVID-19 afternoon, the three sisters giggle as they careen, side-by-side-by-side, down a wavy carnival slide. Seven-year-old fraternal twins Annabella and Evangelina sandwich their 5-year-old sister Gigi. The plastic mats the girls sit on as they descend, scuffed and dirt-stained, attest to their heavy usage by other delighted children.
She started her days at 3:30 am, taking advantage of the quiet before the others arose by 5. She ate simple meals, mostly rice and vegetables. Living in a cement building in the Himalayan foothills, she shivered throughout the winter.
Tenzin Kiyosaki couldn’t have been happier.
Quincy Jones, his eyes closed, exudes a sense of calm and serenity. Sheryl Crow brings her hands together as if in prayer. Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich clasps his hands behind his head, his open mouth forming a perfect O. These, and 38 other images of artists captured as they listened to their favorite music, are the work of UCLA physician and fine-art photographer Richard M. Ehrlich, MD.
The Big Kahuna informs Penny Lane that he has checked in with Wheels and Gumby. They’ve OK’d him to lead a handful of young campers and their counselors on an impromptu kayak ride during rest hour.
On the mainland, he may be known as Kevin Shannon, MD (RES ’90, FEL ’93), associate professor of pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. But on Catalina Island, about 20 miles off the coast of Los Angeles, he answers to Big Kahuna…