Reno - In remembrance of Michael Morkin MD, (1955 - 2020) a valued physician and leader who spent his life in deep service to the Reno community. Dr. Morkin who with his gruff exterior and his witty and sometimes dark humor exuded a roughness that belied his true nature. Michael was the kind of physician that put his patients and their needs first, his heartfelt compassion and real caring was readily evident when he appeared at the bedside of the patients who found themselves in his emergency room. His presence as a leader, teacher and emergency medicine provider in Renoâs largest emergency room for 25 years has been felt and experienced by many.
Michael was unique in many ways, he was a large man with a bushy beard and a bear like persona, whose tender heart had a great love for animals, especially cats. Before he began his career in medicine he rose through the ranks of a local Reno casino and eventually became a manager, all while pursuing his premedical studies. Through his hard work, determination and keen intellect he landed a seat at Northwestern University and the Feinberg School of Medicine. During his tenure as a medical student his interests were vast but he had a specific interest in the ever-evolving field of emergency medicine. His grit and academic achievements earned him a seat in one of the most competitive and toughest emergency medicine residencies in the country, McGaw Medical Center Hospital of Northwestern University in Chicago. After completing his rigorous training program, he eventually found himself moving back to Reno where he would join the emergency medicine team at Washoe County Medical Center, now known as Renown. During these early years, he was blessed to meet and fall in love with his wife Christine, whom brought him some the greatest joy he would ever know.
Michael served as the Medical Director of the Renown Regional Medical Center Emergency Department from 2004 - 2012 and later served as Chief of staff for Renown Regional Medical Center 2014 and 2015. He oversaw and lead responses to several local tragedies, including the Reno air race disaster and debriefed the world about our community response through a compelling TEDx talk. Throughout his career, he has functioned as a clinical professor and mentor for many students and residents from our local University of Nevada School of Medicine as well as many others who have visited Reno for their training. His impact on the local community has been immense and the effects of his teachings will be felt for years to come as many of his students and residents staff emergency rooms of their own and practice medicine in a variety of fields.
Michaelâs journey to retirement from medicine came abruptly as the tables were turned on him in early 2020. He was caring for patients, as he had done for many years at Renoâs busiest emergency room, when he went into a patientâs room to share some instructions. As he attempted to relay some information to them he found himself unable to speak clearly, at that moment Dr. Morkin shifted from provider to patient. He was quickly evaluated by his colleagues and diagnosed with a brain mass which was eventually determined to be a Glioblastoma Multiforme, one of the most destructive cancers known. Michael was treated with some of the best medicine available and he was blessed to live longer than expected.
Michael, was a gentle giant who lived a humble existence, his love and compassion for his patients will always be remembered. In his last days, he was surrounded by his wife, numerous friends and coworkers who dearly love him, he passed peacefully in his home on November 25th 2020. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Christine Lazzarini; brother, James Morkin; sister-in-law Connie Morkin and nephew Patrick Morkin. He was preceded in death by his parents James Morkin and Miriam Morkin and brother Patrick Morkin. For those that knew and cared for Michael it is requested by his wife that donations be made in the name of Dr. Michael Morkin to the Northern Nevada Humane Society. There will be a Celebration of Life in late Spring 2021.
Same. My momâs chihuahua had seizures. He always recovered quickly and would just go on about his dog business but it was tough to watch him go through it. After a while I could anticipate them and just hold him so he didnât fall off the couch or whatever.
Certain people foods seemed to make them more frequent but I donât recall what, specifically.
We checked with several different vets. All of them say that itâs nothing to worry about as long as the frequency remains relatively low. Itâs just one of those things. There is medicine to help but evidently the side effects arenât great.
We had a rescue mutt that started to have seizures at about 2 I think. I was there for the first one and 35 years later Iâm still traumatized by it.
IANAV but once every two months sounds like a lot. Once we dialed in Sparkyâs meds she could go much longer without having an episode. I canât imagine the treatment hasnât really improved in all this time either but it sounds like youâre hearing what we were told back in the day.
The side effects can suck for sure. Weight gain and lethargy were immediately obvious. But she lived to 16 so we had a pretty good run in the end.
Thanks for ending with the good news! The first time it happened I was at my computer playing League of Legends and heard the thud as he fell over. I have no idea what was going on so I picked his 70 pound ass up and immediately rushed to the animal hospital. Definitely one of the scariest times of my life. The vet said that the dogs have no idea it happens. They completely zone out and then just come back to their senses happy as ever. Itâs wild stuff.
Can someone explain how it would work if congress redacted section 230? I donât see how any site could possibly be liable for what people post? Seems to me it would be a law that got tested a couple times but was mostly ignored. Isnât it literally impossible to enforce?
there is zero chance congress just gets rid of it wholesale. they will do some sort of bipartisan reform and it will be a disaster but it will take months if not years.
Consider that FOSTA-SESTA was a partial repeal of section 230 for websites dealing with prostitution and sexual trafficking, so just imagine how businesses react when they lose a giant liability shield.
Before section 230, Prodigy was held in a lawsuit to having the liability of a publisher when it came to defamatory anonymous statements posted using itâs service because it was exercising an editorial role by moderating user-generated content while CompuServe won itâs case because it was wholly unmoderated. This would seem to give businesses like Twitter a choice between letting anything go (which Trump wants) or taking a much stronger hand in moderating anything that is potentially questionable. FOSTA suggests that sites will tend towards self-censorship to avoid liability.
They can be a lot more heavy-handed and err on the side of moderating some good posts if it means blocking 100% of bad posts. Theyâll embrace the â â â â â â â â â â problem if it keeps them from being sued. Theyâre not going to try to moderate every post right. Theyâre fine with being wrong.
Theyâll use what they currently use now, but theyâll crank up the sensitivity so that nothing bad gets through at the cost of a lot more false positives.
