I was listening to a Heather Cox Richardson podcast on Youtube, which I often do, and she was discussing that it’s time for all of us to redefine what it means to be an American. As a physician who worked through the worst of the early days of Covid, I feel I have a certain perspective on this that is unique. I will be haunted for the rest of my days by those first few months of the virus in NYC. And so, I pledge to remember the pandemic with accuracy, to honor the patients I lost (so damned many I still cry for), and to speak for my colleagues who can longer do so, for various reasons.

I am an American physician. I remember it all.