by Amy Givler, MD; and Martha Grace Courtright, MD This article first appeared in Christian Medical and Dental Associations‘ magazine, CMDA Today, Spring 2025 edition. Amy Dear Martha Grace, You ask how I came to choose medicine. I guess I’d have to say it chose me. That is, I was 12 years old when I first heard and responded to the good news of salvation through Jesus, and simultaneously, in some mysterious way, I knew I was supposed to be a doctor. I had never considered medicine before I became a Christian, and afterward I never considered anything else. Mom ...

Every year the ACIP meets three times a year to discuss vaccines. The ACIP is the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. One important task of the ACIP is to help choose the particular components of the flu vaccine that will be given in the fall. This is always a bit of a guess, because the vaccine release date is six months away, and the question is which flu strains will be the biggest threat at that time. The influenza virus is quite sneaky – shifting and changing often. Every year flu experts study which strains are most likely to cause ...

If you are like me, every year January 1st catches me by surprise. That is, Christmas (preparations for which consumed my December) is barely over when I’m asked to make a New Year’s resolution. Could it be that time again? So this year I’m starting to think about it now, mid-December, and hope you do too. If you need ideas, here’s one for you: You could climb all of the “high points” in every state and join a lively community of folks who are doing just that. Did you know that was a thing? Now you know. It is a ...

(If the images do not come through on the newsletter, please go to my website www.amygivler.com to view them.) Stigma, anyone? I remember when I was diagnosed with cancer (Hodgkin’s lymphoma) in 1993 that I felt a tad of reluctance to tell people about it. It’s not that I could have kept it a complete secret, by any means, because I was diagnosed at the hospital where both my husband and I worked – and news travels fast there. Besides, I was eager to tell friends so they could support me and, ideally, pray for healing. But sharing it with ...

My brother John Middendorf died suddenly on June 21, 2024. It has been three months, which seems unreal to me. Hasn’t it been an eternity? Then again, it feels like yesterday—or that it never happened at all. How could someone so alive now be dead? Losing him has felt like a ripping out of something central in my core. Until he was gone, I didn’t realize how intrinsic he was to my sense of self. I grew up as the middle child of five. There were three years between my first and second sister, and a gap of seven years ...

[One of the defining moments of my brother John’s life was nearly dying on a multi-day climb of Half Dome, in Yosemite Valley. I wrote his story (from his perspective) and it was published in Guideposts Magazine in May, 2000. I greatly appreciate Guideposts giving me permission to make it available to my readers. John died on June 21, 2024, and I miss him every day.] Stranded on Half Dome by John “Deuce” Middendorf (as told to Amy Givler) “I loved pushing myself to the edge. Was I pushing God away too?” I’d always thought you had to be a little cocky to be ...