Month: December 2024

December 21. 2024

This old picture popped up and it’s Dr. Sabrina Perrino and I many years ago. This was about 4 years before we founded San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air, and before I went into middle management and then exited after 5 years to devote my extracurricular time to climate and health advocacy. It was during Halloween obviously, and at that point I was already thrifting as the Harry Potter gown was from the Goodwill store. We had just moved to Pacific Beach I think?

I had such a wonderful planned vacation day off yesterday with our daughter. I picked her up from her prep school, and she was hard at work on her ceramics art but living in her little bubble of a prep school world. I toured her school’s ceramics studio for a bit, and looked at her shelf filled with half done projects and looked at her largest project that she is trying to finish. I took more pictures than I needed. And we had a wonderful rest of the evening getting matcha oat latte at Starbucks, buying Christmas gifts for dear friends, and wandering around another Christmas fair and had a semi-fancy dinner at a now favorite spot in Mission Valley.

I used to feel so guilty sending her to private school. A lot of doctors do this now, as it’s hard to take care of others if one is not sure your own are taken care of and the public school system in some areas is still a mess. We really need to pay teachers more. I’m okay living with those contradictions, living in my social world and at peace with our social circle – but knowing that my parenting world doesn’t define me. When we started San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air, I never thought is would lead to opening up my heart so wide for all these premedical students and patients and fellow physicians. In the end, I think the reason we are able to do what we are able to do, is because we are all friends and working toward the same goal – trying to ensure a livable planet for all our patients and our children. Many of us are mothers as well.

It’s the beginning of the Christmas Season/Holiday coverage season, and I am indeed working every day next week – but I’m actually okay with it. I’m okay with it because everything seems manageable these days because I’m happy. So many others have joined Dr. Sabrina Perrino and myself on this journey. And all of your life stories are intertwined with mine. And I’m grateful to know each and every one of you. Even the ones I’ve been intermittently feuding with on different committees for various reasons. I honestly care about you too.

Our son is coming home soon, but one day late from college due to the dense fog that is blanketing San Diego. 1.8 million other travelers were also affected. Our daughter officially started her SAT studying and trying to hit that magic number which is honestly just a number. And I’m still a pediatrician and so happy to practice, and it’s very much because we founded San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air. Trying to save the world, sometimes you inadvertently save yourself. Happy Holidays/Happy New Years to everyone and sending you social media hugs which from this pediatrician are very much real.

December 13, 2024

by Dr. Plastic Picker

My memories of my journey through climate and health and environmental health advocacy is intertwined with trying to spend more time with our daughter. Yesterday was the rare afternoon I had off with her. The previous afternoons I was at a podcast interview at the Conrad Prebys talking about the Tijuana Sewage Crisis. And the other afternoon I was working, and the other afternoon/evening I was on a panel discussion on social justice and environmental health advocacy at UCSD School of Medicine. The previous week I was very sick with likely rotavirus. So it is important to emphasize that yesterday afternoon was my rare afternoon I had to spend with her.

I had picked her up on time after school and she had a good day at school. She was brimming with those little stories that need to be heard. The quizzes that went well, those assignments that did not. The friends that noticed her eyelashes, and the boys that notice too much. And the exciting little tidbits of news and gossip about junior and seniors that she wants to share with me. Who is applying where early decision? Who is going out with who, and what kind of dates would be fun to have? Showing me her sketches for her next project. Sharing bits and pieces of back and forth about family. She always wants to hear about my work gossip and going-ons.

But yesterday during what was mostly a happy afternoon driving down our usual route, with a quick detour to buy a birthday gift and get a snack and a quick walk at Hazard Center – became this overwhelming sense of doom and foreboding because I needed to call into Irvine City Council meeting as there was a surprise last minute meeting called as the new Irvine City Council was trying to pull Irvine from OC Power Authority. In the end the city council meeting and making comments took 5 hours. During those 5 hours, we finished our walk and our snack. We finished buying presents for her friend’s birthday and two secret santa gifts for my work friends. We even picked up dry cleaning. We got home, and I was able to make a relatively health dinner and I finished my virtual testimony after waiting 3 hours. I even finished all my charts and did lab results and charting while listening in on the meeting.

But what I want to tell Mayor Larry and who I will remember, a fellow Vietnamese-American, Councilmember James Mai – is that you completely ruined my afternoon with my daughter. You ruined what should have been a happy rare free afternoon and evening, because you successfully tried to start the process of removing Irvine City from OC Power Authority. Your focus and complete meanness and negative energy and negativity, and your complete inability to listen to the overwhelming community comments/support of OCPA was disheartening. And yes I remember especially every single Vietnamese-American individual in that council chamber room that voted and worked AGAINST CHILDREN and AGAINST CLIMATE. I identify with you. I see your faces and your names, and I feel akin to you. And that hurt the most. I hope I never meet any of you socially and you never ask for my help. I’ll probably help if it’s the right thing to do, but I’ll always remember when YOU DID THE WRONG THING and I never have to like you.

This is my emotional journey as a climate and health physician and as a mother. Mostly yesterday was a wonderful day, but it was also a godawfully bad day and I can’t believe there were Vietnamese-American politicians involved with this. You are not part of my tribe anymore because you have caused harm to all children including Vietnamese ones.