Cracked Screens & Holey Socks!

Cracked screens and holey socks - that’s what it takes to start a new clinic and feed the embers of a revolutionary healthcare model. In this post, I’m taking a break from sharing information about primary headache types so that I can discuss this recent personal epiphany.

As I was getting ready this morning, reflecting on where I’d been and where I’m headed, I stopped to carefully place my phone on the counter so that no further cracks would form. My phone has been flickering for a few months and taking the protective case off seemed to allow it to function more smoothly. To my dismay a few weeks ago, I dropped it in the parking lot on the way to a funeral — it was already a very sad day, remembering a dear friend and enthusiastic advocate for headache medicine: Kim Oas. She is going to be very much missed.

I think about her often, especially when going through my introspecting routine, she was a big believer in IHC and still is a source of encouragement to “keep doing what I’m doing.” Then, back to going over the to-do list for patients and for the clinic. Running just on time, I put my socks on. Doh! I realize there is a hole in the sock over my left toe. Oh well, no time to go digging for un-holey socks in order to switch them out. Run out the door and make it to the clinic, first patient is a few minutes early and waiting outside the door. Open up shop, time to get started!

Now I’m taking a short break from the hustle and bustle of day-to-day operations and seizing the opportunity to reflect about this clinic, my retro 90’s Ghost Buster socks with holes, and my more-than-3-year-old phone full of cracks. These are little things, they may look funny or be a nuisance, but they remind me that I’m focusing on the right things - the bigger questions and goals that I have. I also find myself thinking about other things that are new to me (unlike my socks and my phone) but that have become a substantial part of my life since opening IHC - this blog, for example. I am beginning to enter the social media scene after avoiding it for a decade and a half. Sure, I don’t always know how to make the flashiest post or how to create hashtags that people want to follow, but I know that this is an important medium of communication and I want to make a solid effort to be a voice for people suffering from headache and facial-pain conditions. So, if holey-socks and cracked phones are what it takes to keep me focused on the bigger prize (that is empowering our patients and revolutionizing how healthcare works) - then I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Why am I doing it? Passion, dedication, and commitment. Who cares about a hole in my sock when I’ve got 3 bigger priorities to focus on as my team and I move forward with IHC:

  1. Provide, advocate, and raise awareness for those with headache and facial-pain conditions in order to improve quality of life.

  2. Reintroduce the “community feel” to medicine by using modern technology while also allowing for global access and comprehensive well-being for patients, providers, and staff.

  3. Make Headache Medicine fun for aspiring young physicians. Our model provides a structure that can not only make it straightforward and fulfilling to take care of those with headache and facial-pain disorders, but can also inspire young providers to embark on their own personal/professional journeys that help people live better lives. Who you gonna call? :)

Image by Ester Harrison

Image by Ester Harrison