Why do I ride? I ride for my patients. I'm a general pediatrician, practicing primary care at the Child Health Clinic in Aurora, where we see kids who live in our neighborhood. They need vaccines, they need screening, but many also need help with a variety of illnesses (that we manage with our specialist partners) and mental health problems. Our teams work with families to coordinate care, collaborate with the hospital and partner with the community to walk with our families and their children in a complex and changing world.
This year is particularly hard; most of our families benefit from Federally funded programs like Medicaid, WIC, Headstart, Early Intervention and SNAP, all of which are on the budget chopping block right now. In addition, the science behind what we do is under attack. I've watch vaccines eliminate diseases over my career. I never thought I would have to be worried about measles epidemics in the United States again. It is a hard time to practice evidence-based pediatrics, and we need it now more than ever.
I doubt that anyone in Washington wakes up in the morning thinking "How should I hurt children today?", but some days it feels like it. Our commitment to our kids and families remains strong, but in these troubled times, we need your support to continue the work.
I'll be riding Vail Pass this year, thinking how easy that is compared to what our families are going through right now. See you on the other side!
