Black History Month for me was always special.  At our  school we had special programs and even better was all the programs we had at church each year.  There were the plays, poetry readings and guest speakers. The concerts featuring special music show cased the talents of so many including my sister.

Growing up my heroes were Barbara Jordan and Shirley Chisholm. I was in high school and college when they took their places in the Democratic Party and changed it forever.  So I really think it is time to make history and appoint and African-American female to the Supreme Court. The first African-American female Supreme Court appointee will be a special person. I often think she would have to be an incarnation of these two great women. Each woman would so eloquently pass the scrutiny of this Congress. Could you imagine either one of them face to face with the members of Congress.

1976 DNC Keynote Address

Barbara Jordan was a lawyer and an educator who rose through the ranks and to my memory gave one of the best keynote speeches ever heard at any political convention. I was in my first year of college and getting ready to vote in my first election.  We had hoped she would be the  first black female to be appointed to the Carter Administration as US Attorney General but that did not happen.  It was a dream “deferred.”  Nevertheless, she went on to greatness.

Announcing her bid for the Presidency

Shirley Chisholm was another  trailblazing woman.  She was not a lawyer but an educator.  A great teacher and advocate for equal education and employment opportunities.  She went on to have a historic political career.  She awed us all by having the courage and commitment to run for president in 1972.  I was still just in high school.  She was passionate about her campaign and each speech rallied our support.  We all felt empowered by her eloquence and determination to make a difference.  Another “dream deferred.”

Now, other heroic African-American women have made their way through the ranks by doing excellent work and making a difference. They are waiting for the chance to courageously step forward. It is the time for one of these African-American females to take a seat on the Supreme Court. Leah Ward Sears, former justice on the Georgia Supreme Court, wrote that the ideal Supreme Court Justice should have a strong character, be a visionary and be a patriotic American. There are African-American women who have the courage and the sense of justice that is needed.

This is a significant moment in time and  President Obama has the once in a lifetime opportunity to fulfill those dreams and hopes that Barbara Jordan referred to at the 1976 Democratic National Convention and Shirley Chisholm expressed when she had the courage to run for president.  More importantly, these are the dreams and hopes of all those little girls who were empowered by two courageous women and who now are inspiring the next generation. Many of them are now in the position to step into history and help bring more diversity to the decisions to be handed down in the next few years.

If I was in charge, the Flu shot would be mandatory for everyone. Influenza is preventable and over the years, I have heard so many excuses that a few years ago, I just started saying to patients” That is not true. There is no evidence for that.” Not to be disrespectful but to start a more informed dialog about the benefits of getting a vaccine for a vaccine preventable illness.

So, it is not perfect each year. So some people get the Flu even if they had the shot. The cases are low and that is not a valid reason to skip the shot. This year the shot does contain the most prevalent strains of the virus. The Flu shot must be administered each year because of changes in the virus. Each year the CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) closely monitor the strains of virus present to decide which ones should be included in the flu vaccine. This vaccine can’t give you the flu. However, flu vaccine, like other vaccines, can occasionally cause a reaction. Feeling some response to the shot is not unusual. The best time to get vaccinated is October or November. Children getting a flu shot for the first time will need two doses given 30 days apart. The flu shot is not approved for use in children less than 6 months old.

In residency, I got the flu shot to prevent the risk of my toddler and patients getting Influenza from me. I was caring for a lot of sick patients between my AIDS patients, the nursing home and the Newborn Nursery. When I entered private practice, I started to make sure my patients received a Flu shot. It was not until 1993 that Medicare actually covered the cost of the vaccine. Recommendations have changed over the years and now the basic recommendation is that everyone should get a Flu shot.

I only had Influenza once which I believe was 1992 or 1993 in March of all the worse times to get it. It was one of those years when we had a late start to Flu season. I was so sick that I had to cancel patients. I took one of the older antiviral medications on the market at the time but stopped it because of the side effects. After that experience, I get a shot in September and again in January. I was the boss and I was paying for it so I had that option. I have not had it since. Of course, now I just get one well-timed shot. When I was director of a Prenatal Clinic, we encouraged our pregnant patients, their children and spouses to get the vaccine. It really worked. I don’t recall having a case of Influenza in a pregnant patient while I was there. I am thrilled that hospitals and school systems are mandating it. But it is not in all states yet.

One year working as a medical director of a Nursing Home, we had a nation-wide vaccine shortage. The supply was late getting to our patients and we had an outbreak. I became aware of the risk of death that comes with contracting Influenza in a debilitated elderly population. The mortality rate is high. We lost a number of patients to pneumonia that year. We actually had a resident based in the facility to monitor the patients. The hospital was overwhelmed so we provided care in the facility. I think the outcome was better but we all felt the toll along with the families.

I now work with college students. We can’t make it mandatory but I can say that getting the vaccine prevents lost days from classes, missed examinations and can affect the final grade. The Flu can ruin a presentation or a project and without intervention can lead to a drop in a grade. Also, there is the risk of hospitalization for pneumonia and even death in this age group. For the first time gave out all of our vaccine and will reorder if the demand is there. It is my hope that parents encouraged their kids to get vaccinated during Winter Break.

My advice is get a Flu Shot if you haven’t gotten one already and insist that those in your extended circle get one.

Looking back 2013 was a year of celebrating 30 years.  The year started with spending time with my family in Birmingham the first week of January.  I caught up with two of my college friends and founding members of our chapter of Delta Sigma Theta on our Campus at the University of Montevallo.  Of course, I spent time with my family. I love driving to each aunt’s home and sitting and talking.

In March, I hosted the family Easter dinner at my home.  For years we traveled to Baltimore for dinner and church service. When we lived on the Eastern Shore, we had several dinners at the home of my friend Ann. This year we are hosting again.  The Baltimore family is traveling to NJ again.

In May, I attended the annual Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Meeting in Baltimore MD.  I had the honor of introducing the keynote speaker and moderating the Q&A session.  This year, I am doing the same but the meeting is in San Antonio.  May was my 30th Medical School Class Reunion.  I did not attend but it is hard to believe that I graduated from medical school in 1983. I feel like it was yesterday. Since graduation, I have spent 30 years as an MD.  I have practiced in New Jersey, Maryland and Tennessee.

June was a spectacular month. I started my blog and posted a short story I wrote. We traveled back to Birmingham for the first Annual Giddens Family Reunion. It was attended by over 200 members of my grandmother’s family.    This year we will have another reunion in Birmingham and then start every two years.  We have a Facebook page.  It is used to announce birthdays and unfortunately update us on illness and loss.  My grandmother was from a large family.  We lost her brother (last surviving sibling) this year.  They were a remarkable group of people and we all hope to live up to the high standards they set for us.  The first is to keep getting together to celebrate our family.

In October, my stepdaughter was married in DC at the home of her new husband.  It was 30 years ago that I met my husband (her dad) and she and her brother became a part of my life. We spent a lovely few days in DC during the government shutdown.  All the monuments and museums were closed so we walked around and took pictures.

In December, we spent a few days in Ocean City Maryland.  It was 30 years of celebrating birthdays as a family. The weather was beautiful.

I saw the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall and waded through the crowds to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. We made it to Baltimore for Christmas Dinner and the drive down was delightful.  This year there was no snow or blinding-rain.

We have celebrated 30 New Year’s Eves together.  We spent a quiet evening at home and watched “Casablanca” and “Foyle’s War.”  We received greetings from friends and family on Facebook and by text message.

Here’s to 2014.  I am going to work very hard the first few months because of projects I need to complete but I do plan to spend time catching up with old friends. I do not make resolutions but if I chose a theme or a word, it would be “Gratitude.”

For years, I have never let bad weather keep me from getting to the hospital and making my rounds.  When I was a resident, I was always able to get in.  I never had a snow day.  When I took a year off to practice in a small clinic in Baltimore, the staff had planned to close on a snowy day.  I made it in.  I found out that the Pharmacist lost the bet.  The “Southern Bell” had made it in.

I was always in the hospital either because I could walk or if it was bad enough I was driven in by my husband. He was dubbed “Nanook of the North and me as his “Snow Queen” by a friend and hospital administrator.  I would get the calls from my stranded colleagues and I would spring into action, going through the hospital seeing patients, writing orders and running to the ER to do the admissions.  I would spend the whole day seeing patients.  I even got special treat of free food.

One year on the eastern shore, we had to make it through the Ice storm that paralyzed the whole east coast.  I made it from the office to the hospital slowly driving behind my trusty Physician Assistant who was stuck in the office with me because we had so many patients that day.  When I got to the hospital, the ER was packed with patients who had slipped on the icy sidewalks and needed their fractures managed.  I sprang into action and  I did pre-op evaluations while the orthopedic surgeons set the fractures.  My husband and son were home.  I finally made it to my house hours later.  The next day, the hospital had volunteer drivers who could pick me up.  It was the wife of one the Cardiologist who had a four wheel drive vehicle who made it to my house.

The grocery store scene the day before a snow storm has always baffled me.  I never knew why people purchased so much bread and milk. I would go in to pick up a few things but was always afraid to get too much.   The worst year, we lost power and heat.  Living in a 100 year-old house near the Choptank River was cold.  Our friend brought us Chinese food from the local restaurant that still had power.  I was thankful that my son was not a picky eater. I had so many patients in the hospital and the beeper was non-stop with calls.  Remember in the early 90’s, cell phones were not in wide spread use.  The one I used was the old bag phone.  My car was snowed in.  My husband tried to did it out but the ice was so thick. Even when we moved to Chattanooga, I seemed to be the only one in my group who could make after the rare snow fall.

Today as I look out on the winter wonderland, I have nowhere to go.  I shopped yesterday, we have power and I have no call or patients in the hospital.  I am not worrying about how I can get into the hospital to check on patients in the ICU, telemetry, medical floors. The phone is not ring with calls from the Nursing Home.   There are no calls from stranded colleagues giving me the names of their patients that need to be evaluated.  I have no ER calls about patients needing to go to the Operating room because of fractures. So I am writing, reading and just enjoying the warmth for the first time in years.  I am going to watch episodes of “Foyle’s War” which is set in a small town outside London during World War II.  I am also going to read some medical journals, address holiday cards and make dinner.