Finding Joy in Dermatology

I recently had to have a root canal. I know. It was the worst. For those of you who have been there, you know my pain. For those of you who haven’t, I hope it never happens to you. My tooth ached for 10 days before the root canal and an entire week after. It was a nightmare. 

Navigating clinic during that was a daily struggle. I felt like I couldn’t be my best self. I was unable to give 100% because I was always one jolt away from tears at any given moment. I told a lot of my patients what was going on so they knew why I was not my typical bubbly self and I hoped that they could see that I was trying my absolute best to give them a good patient experience despite the pain. In the future, if I have a negative encounter with someone who is mean or rude, I’ll offer them a little grace. Maybe they have a toothache. Maybe that’s why they’re so cranky.

And I discovered that having a toothache can suck the joy out of your life faster than a turbo-powered Hoover. Everything that normally brought me joy—talking, eating, drinking, smiling, laughing, even kissing my little dogs—now made me wince. My only joy from the experience was the nitrous and the Seinfeld episodes that I got to watch while the endodontist mercifully put my tooth to rest. 

Coming out of this experience, I had a new appreciation for finding joy. It reminded me of that glorious first sip of ice-cold water when you’re parched (my molars twitch just thinking about it) or that perfect first bite of a cheeseburger when you’re absolutely starving. Deprivation has a way of highlighting and enhancing delight. I was joy-starved after my experience, and everything following it made me appreciate all the things I derive joy from so much more.

Joy for me is the episode of Bluey called “Charades.” Or “Baby Race.” Or “Family Meeting.” Joy for me is cuddling with my doggies, Mosby and Maggie. Joy for me was seeing the giant pandas at the National Zoo in March (is there a cuter animal on the planet?!). Joy is seeing the 6-year-old with alopecia totalis come in for a follow-up with a full head of hair thanks to an off-label oral JAK inhibitor. Joy is the family that hugs me because their kiddo with eczema is finally sleeping through the night. Joy is knowing that, in dermatology, we can fix most of the things that trouble our patients.

Don’t wait for a root canal to enlighten you on the value of experiencing joy. Go out there and find your joy. Do more of it. And appreciate every second of it.