All posts by Mark Crislip

Mark Crislip, MD has been a practicing Infectious Disease specialist in Portland, Oregon, from 1990 to 2023. He has been voted a US News and World Report best US doctor, best ID doctor in Portland Magazine multiple times, has multiple teaching awards and, most importantly,  the ‘Attending Most Likely To Tell It Like It Is’ by the medical residents at his hospital. His multi-media empire can be found at edgydoc.com.

Skeptics in the Pub. Cholera. Chapter 12a

I slept like a rock, no dreams that I could remember, and upon awakening, the ball of anxiety that had been my constant companion was gone. I tried to get it back by thinking of all the unpleasant things that might happen in the next few days. Nothing. I felt good. Acceptance is the final stage of dying, so I must, at...

/ March 16, 2024

Skeptics in the Pub. Cholera. 11b

I hopped the trolley to Kenton to spend the afternoon helping Susan with the quarantine. After I got off the trolley, I purchased thirty of the Extra Editions and handed them out to the families of the Cholera victims. Mostly because I wanted people to know about the seawater treatment, I figured that word about the pump water would spread quickly, and...

/ March 9, 2024

Skeptics in Pub. Cholera. Chapter 11a

The morning started too early. For some reason, I snapped awake just before sunrise and could not fall back to sleep. Probably that ball of guilt in the pit of my stomach. I suspected it is a minor example of what a condemned man feels on the morning of his execution. I lay in bed and stared thoughtlessly at the ceiling waiting...

/ March 2, 2024

Skeptics in the Pub. Cholera. Chapter 10b

A young woman was waiting at the pump. She introduced herself as Amy Blogg, an Illustrator for the River Weekly. She quickly let us know that she had been briefed by Mrs. Howitt. I demonstrated the workings of the microscope on a blade of grass and an ant. It was met with the usual expressions of amazement by first-timer users. If I...

/ February 24, 2024

More Unneeded Adjectives

This is going to be a mostly reference free blog entry. Mostly a rambling opinion about my biases and opinions about science. And you know what they say about opinions. I seem to fret an inordinate amount about adjectives. So often they do not belong in front of the nouns found here at the blog. I remain a touch annoyed at the...

/ February 20, 2024

Skeptics in the Pub: Cholera. Chapter 10a

When I woke up the next morning, I went for my usual tea and scone. Then I caught the trolley to work. When it reached the far side of the Steel Bridge, I hopped off. I took the steps down to the lower level and took the narrow walking path back across the river. I saw no one get off the trolley...

/ February 17, 2024

Skeptics in the Pub. Cholera. Chapter 9b

“You are here early,” he said. “Yeah. I’m trying to decide what to do about this pump and the seawater cure. So far, my attempts are falling flat.” I told him about the couple pumping water and my lack of success in stopping them from taking the water home. “No surprise,” said Bonham. “Water is supposed to be as safe as mothers”...

/ February 10, 2024

Skeptics in the Pub. Cholera. Chapter 9a.

For once, I beat the alarm clock by a good hour. Anxiety is better than sunrise for becoming and staying awake. I had too many things to do, and neither the time nor the skill set to accomplish them. As the week progressed, I had become increasingly aware that every hour we did not act meant more death and disease—and I could...

/ February 3, 2024

Skeptics in the Pub. Cholera. Chapter 8b

It's the pump! But you knew that.

/ January 27, 2024

Skeptics in the Pub. Cholera. Chapter 8a

The Cholera continues.

/ January 20, 2024