As years roll on, I’m noticing more parts of me breaking down: Teeth, eyes, knees, cardiovascular, stomach—the list keeps getting longer, as does the list of docs I see. I’m blessed to be living in an area with the world’s finest medical care and lucky that healthcare innovation (and Medicare) have made it possible for me to keep doing what I love to do. Yet I can’t help but notice that there are a few breakdowns also in our systems of medical care. While our providers share the highest purpose—to make the patient well—they’re often burdened by systems that make it difficult to see the whole patient.

Recently, while rebounding from my second knee replacement in 2024 (kudos to the greatest doc and hospital team), I was inspired to compose a whimsical parody of a 19th-century poem penned by John Godfrey Saxe. The moral: As we focus more on the parts, we may miss the whole. Enjoy.

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