“I’m Sensitive”
I have been practicing neurology in Charlotte, NC for more than 25 years. I realized that neurology was the specialty for me in my 4th year of medical school during my neurology rotation at Emory University in Atlanta. Neurology clicked for me. I love everything about it. Every patient is unique. The cases are fascinating. I get to have long term relationships with many of my patients. While I almost never “fix” my patients, I usually help them. I may help them find a diagnosis or a medicine or other therapy that improves the quality of their life. I was lucky to find the right practice and have been with the same group for my entire career.
I had never suffered with pain until I had a disc herniation in my back in 2012 with severe nerve pain. I have lived with pain every day since then. I had surgery in 2016 and returned to work 1 month later, improved but still with daily pain. In late 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, I herniated a disc in my neck with severe nerve pain and then arm weakness and had surgery 2 weeks later. I returned to work a few weeks after the surgery. I credit my family and my patients with getting me back to work both times.
My patients inspire me every day. They motivate me to do my best. They have taught me so much about myself. Over the years, I have learned that some patients are more sensitive than others. By trying to help patients in my practice understand their sensitive side, I began to see myself as a sensitive person. I learned to embrace my own sensitive side, and it was my patients who walked me down this road of introspection. I have a low pain threshold. I am sensitive to what others are feeling and saying and to things in my environment like smells and sounds.
This insight has helped me live with pain. I have good days and bad days. On bad days, I believe there will be a good day. My goal in developing this website was to reach a wider audience than my own practice to share some insights that I have gained over years of caring for patients and from my own experiences.