True Stories

Narrative non-fiction. Things that really happened, told in story form.

Treating my type 2 diabetes through diet and exercise – resisting a predetermined medicalized future

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Healthcare – especially public healthcare – is optimized for  risk management. This will always be true despite talk of ‘personalized medicine’. It perpetuates its own truths and pre-approves acceptable choices for patients. Our experts and clinicians are trained to operate the system as it is, not to construct it on the fly according to each patient’s needs.

When I Was a Sailor

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When I was a teenager, I sailed on a tall ship every summer. Toronto Brigantine is a sail-training organization for youth and operates two vessels: T.S. Playfair and S.T.V. Pathfinder.  During the summer, the ships sail the Great Lakes with its seamen and crew, often sailing continuously through the night and arriving at port only … Read more

Heartland USA, just west of Toronto

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I don’t remember much about what I was taught in school as a kid. But I do remember that all subjects had a subtle but effective message: it’s good to be Canadian. Families might vacation in Florida if they had money, or drive to Buffalo to take advantage of the exchange rate for back-to-school shopping–we … Read more

My article in the latest Ars Medica journal: “Do Not Resuscitate”

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It had become an annual event. Owen’s pneumonias seemed to happen every spring, a kind of rite of passage to clear the lungs in preparation for the inevitably muggy Toronto summers. We could always tell when it was coming—started with mild lethargy and weak smiles, continued through a body-heat phase that made his skin weirdly … Read more

A day I think about, often

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Owen would occasionally cry so deeply that if you were to witness him in those moments it would shatter your heart.  It would start small, imperceptible to those who are  unfamiliar–but once it began, there was no stopping it. Many tried to jiggle or funny-face or tickle him out of his despair, always losing in … Read more

Another time and place

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I spent a good part of my childhood living in a subsidized housing complex in Kitchener. I didn’t know that it was dingy or small or that our neighbourhood was poor or what government subsidy was. I thought of it as home.

Sick Kids

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I was a panelist at a symposium yesterday at The Hospital for Sick Children, in Toronto. I was very much looking forward to participating as it merged two significant areas of my life: social media and patient advocacy.