It is one of the loneliest silences I know. As I sit on my back porch, staring at the hummingbird feeder that now needs to be removed, I miss the energetic chatter and the aerial shows of flight supremacy that entertained me for endless hours when the hummingbirds were here. Like many species, they migrate.  They move from one climate to another in search of a situation that will better suit their needs. Their survival. They do it at great cost, both energetically and with just plain wear and tear on their minute bodies.   They use mechanisms we are still striving to understand to accomplish these amazing feats of flight and navigation.  I have the greatest admiration for creatures of all sorts that undertake migration to ensure that year after year, they will still show up on a list other than one entitled Endangered Species.

In my mind, the word “retirement” should be removed from the universe and replaced with the word “migration”.  As many of you know, over the last year I have been changing my clinical duties in the office, giving the younger people an opportunity to try their wings. It is the natural progression of things. I have been a physician for 35 years, and have certainly seen a lot in that time period. I remember working on big open wards filled to the brim with patients battling the recently identified HIV virus before there were treatment offerings; the country’s contemplation of National Health Care; handwritten charts; and having little to offer patients with stage four melanoma. Technology has created both advances in the diagnosis and treatment of health issues, as well as snafus and entanglements that generate burnout and depression faster than the speed of our microprocessors.  Another wave of change is coming  (truth be told it is already here), AI in medicine.  That will bring change and challenge, and while I will no longer be spending those long days in clinic, my head is still in the game. As many of you know, I have been doing deeper dives into fields of interest such as healthy aging, how to maximize survival when confronted with significant health challenges, epigenetics, and how to better navigate our health care system and be your own advocate in your health care journey. I am maintaining my license, completing my required continuing medical education, and regularly submit myself to the testing required by the American Board of Dermatology to maintain board certification. (You would be happy to know at last count I was in the 94th percentile of those tested.)  As I make this transition more definitively, you will be able to find me at lisalowry.com, where blog postings and essays on what those deep dives are revealing can be found.  There will be a recently completed book of poetry and photography for those moving through the cancer space, as well as other photography and painting offerings. While this site is coming on line, you can find more of my writing and photography in Tyler Today.   For now, navigation to that site will still bring you to dermatologyofeasttexas.  But stay tuned.

Throughout all of this, the best part hands down has been the time I spend in the exam room with you, the patient.  Hearing your stories, sharing your challenges, and trying, together, to figure the path ahead. I have felt equally fortunate to have by my side colleagues that have given more than their fair share of blood, sweat, and tears (both happy and sad), to this practice. We have spent over a decade together, and it is bittersweet without doubt to not see them on as regular a basis.  Modern overcommunication being what it is, however, I think I will find a way to keep in touch with everyone. I will have a place on my website if you want to get in touch. Rest assured that you will be able to continue getting all the quality, personalized, dermatologic care you are accustomed to with those remaining at the helm of Dermatology of East Texas (Recently voted number one dermatology practice in Tyler, by the way).  Committed to maintaining a private practice environment, where the patient, and not a corporation, is free to make decisions best for you, the patient.

So, this is not GOOD BYE.  This is me, migrating, to something that will be more sustainable, and give me the opportunity to check items off the bucket list, learn, grow, and share in a new way.  Looking forward to what the future brings all of us.

With the GREATEST amount of GRATITUDE that can exist in one heart,

Lisa Lowry