Mere Mortal MD

JUNE 29, 2025

I just returned from a week long vacation in the remote mountains of Alaska, in a tiny little town called McCarthy. This magical place is located in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park & Reserve, which is the largest National Park in the United States. The Park contains sections of 4 different mountain chains: the Chugach Mountains, the Wrangell Mountains, the Saint Elias Mountains, and the Alaska Range.

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Mere Mortal MD

JUNE 15, 2025

Exactly five years ago today I decided to stop drinking alcohol. In part, it was because I was very depressed, burned out from my job, and existentially unhappy. But it was also because I had a drinking problem. Not the black-out-wake-up-hungover-can’t-remember-what-I-did-the-night-before-kind of problem, but rather, a slowly-smoldering-need-a-little-bit-every-day-kind of problem.

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Mere Mortal MD

SEPTEMBER 6, 2024

Mere Mortal MD Subscribe Sign in Share this post Mere Mortal MD Coming soon Copy link Facebook Email Notes More Coming soon Dr Valerie Brooke Sep 06, 2024 Share this post Mere Mortal MD Coming soon Copy link Facebook Email Notes More Share This is Mere Mortal MD.

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Mere Mortal MD

FEBRUARY 24, 2025

Above my writing desk on top of my antique mini card catalogue is a small metal stand with a silver butterfly clip stretching skyward, glittering blue and green gems adorning the butterfly’s wings. I use this clip to hold small pieces of paper with meaningful quotes, switching them out from time to time when I need a new focus for my daily life.

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Mere Mortal MD

MARCH 13, 2025

I try to always show my patients their imaging, that is, the pictures of the damaged parts of their bodies, from their x-rays, CT scans, or MRIs. If it’s a bone injury I go to the gym to grab Bona Lisa, our full sized skeleton model, and wheel her into the patient’s room. I start with the model in order to show the patient the locations of their injuries in 3-dimensions.

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Mere Mortal MD

MARCH 22, 2025

My husband is about ready to leave for his first electrician job here in Alaska. We’ve been here a year, and it has taken that long to get to this day. So many hurdles to jump over to get his journeyman’s licensing and previous hours of work in Nevada transferred and verified. All the paperwork to get into the electrical union seemed like more than what I had to do to become a licensed physician in the state.

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Mere Mortal MD

APRIL 6, 2025

Yesterday I had a much needed visit to my primary care physician to talk about some minor annoyances that have been creeping up in my body. There’s the slow growing vines encircling my feet, entering my toes, knees, hips, and shoulders to deposit their moldy ache. And the fireflies buzzing around my head at night when I am trying to fall asleep, unwilling to turn off their blinking lights so I can let the dark take me into slumber.

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