race and medicine

a colored diagnosis

I sat in an audience of about 500 other nephrologists learning the latest about diseases affecting the filtering parts of the kidney, the glomeruli, and their treatments. It was the second day of the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week and the end of a very long day of lectures that would be capped off with a discussion of case studies, led by experts in diseases of the glomeruli, the answers unknown to them and us.

the doctor card

It was Wednesday evening when I walked into my home to find my 6-foot-2-inch 15-year-old son, Avery, sitting on the living room couch and sobbing, his head hanging down. I had just spent the last half-hour driving to and from a gym, while he caught a ride home with his basketball coach.