Thanks for all the fish

It didn’t really hit me until I started culling patient charts.  I looked up AZ statutes and determined that I need to keep six years worth of charts.  The rest, maybe 2/3 of the total, will be shredded. As mind-numbing as the task was, there was a ritual quality to it which I seem to have needed.  

I’ve been at this for about 20 years, at first while still practicing OB-Gyn and then with a freestanding Medical Acupuncture practice.  I’ve seen a lot of patients in that time, and the chart project was an amazing trip into the foggy reaches of my middle-aged brain.  What a blessing to get to know and help all these folks.  I’m grateful, it’s been fabulous, and it’s time to move on.

Why the paper clips?  That’s roughly how many records I'll be sending to the shredder.  I didn’t count (my mind is sufficiently numb from the culling), but there were a lot, and many included thank-you cards, holiday greetings and birth announcements.  There were relationships long and short, serious and light-hearted.  Many will continue.

 A friend from my OB/Gyn practice made this logo for me when I was just finishing acupuncture training., I adore it still.  Equally special was the intarsia piece inspired by the logo; a patient gift.

Most of my Acupuncture practice was in this office on Bell Road.  I so appreciate Glenna and Caroll Wheat, my landlords, for putting the office within financial reach.

So, after 28 years I’m changing my medical licensure status to “retired,” paying my malpractice ‘tail,” selling off some stuff, and becoming primarily a Photographer, Volunteer, and more involved member of my family.

Next chapter; many more photographic images to come.

“So long, and thanks for all the fish.” -Douglas Adams