Author Alexandra Retana blogs about her book, medicine, kids, life, and whatever else comes to mind
My mom has been dreaming of taking me to the opera for ages. She gave my husband and me tickets 2 years ago as a gift for the holidays and sent us to New York to go to the Met. Unfortunately, my husband came down with a slight case of sepsis, socked in pneumonia, and … Continue reading 5 tips for going to the opera… at least in Vienna
Guess where I am. Okay, I don't know why I said that because it's pretty dumb to ask people to guess where I am via a blogpost because how would they answer? Plus, how would they know anyway. So, I'll just tell you. I am in Vienna. This may not sound like a big … Continue reading With love from…
It was the week after 9/11. Everyone was in shock, naturally, and doing their best to climb out of their own personal hell however they could. In my mother's case, the shock manifested itself as a long-forgotten buried sensation of physical visceral fear that used to be part of the daily existence for her in … Continue reading The Invincible Mrs. Connelly
If you're an ordered person, you might want to know that when you have kids order goes out the window. Take my house: there is diaper smell everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Toys, little sock balls, yesterday's pajamas and boxes of wipes trip me up when I try to go to the bathroom at night or make my … Continue reading Something always works out
Okay, so, when I first started this shindig, I had this ambitious goal of writing a medical GI-themed post every Friday, something important but funny for the public. I even had a cute name for the endeavor: "Farting Fridays." You know, because GI, and because there is an alliteration, and people love alliterations on the … Continue reading Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Barrett’s esophagus
I was about four when I had my first real birthday party, with kids and playing. I always had the best parties as a kid, because my mom would plan these incredible games, and all the guests got favors and my grandmother cooked and baked like she was inviting the Queen and not ten screaming … Continue reading
Why do second kids gets so shafted? (She asks, as she's writing this post instead of rushing to pick up 2nd child from daycare... 
don't judge me) Or mine did, at least. It must be because they're old news, right? You've done it once, you've done a million times. I got home really really … Continue reading 8 ways 2nd born kids get shafted
When it was time to decide which fellowship to do, I agonized for a bit; so much so, that I took a year off, actually, because I really don't believe in agonizing over decisions - I think important decisions should be easy. The right choice feels right! I even wrote my residency personal statement on … Continue reading When one person dies so another can live
Every doctor has had this patient. You know the type? The type that has an actual illness, or had one in the past, and now there is no evidence of anything active, but the patient shows up at the ER every other week, and knows the system enough to use the perfect buzzwords to … Continue reading Step back and start over
As I sat there, mouth agape, and absorbed what I was seeing, and after frantically googling American history facts (like, they were in NYC? I thought it all happened in Boston...), this what my impressions are. Take it all with a grain of salt. EXCEPT: the sixth point. I am dead serious about the sixth … Continue reading 6 points I want to make about Hamilton
And Why Not! 