billnelems

Hello, I'm Bill, welcome to my HubPages site.

I am a Thoracic Surgeon practicing in Western Canada, but I don't define myself by my work.

I would rather be known as a good family person, a humanitarian, a philanthropist, an environmentalist with a passion for promoting the use of alternate energy, an athlete and a birder.

I enjoy writing, but for too many years my life as a surgeon didn't allow for much free time. I try to write in the present tense, in part to remind myself that all we really have in life is the present moment. The past is gone and the future doesn't exist. I also write in the present tense because I see myself as a storyteller and the narrative plays well in the present, creating a sense of excitement and uncertainty. It is as if one is actually living the story.

I also try to find humour in my writings. I have learned that from my patients. I am constantly amazed with their resilience and their humanity. They find humour and laughter even when confronted with staggering odds. They remind me not to take life too seriously. Humour itself heals, pumping endorphins into our blood stream, enhancing our immune systems.

I am also the Founder of the Okanagan Zambia Health Initiative Foundation, an organization committed to enhancing education of medical and nusing professionals in Zambia. In so doing it is my hope that medical service delivery to much needed African citizens in that part of the world will be enhanced.

Over 6 weeks in April and May 2010, I will be riding 4500 kilometres on my bicycle to raise money for our Society. I will ride twith the Tour d'Afrique hrough Malawi, Zambia. Botswana, Namibia ending in Cape Town South Africa. I will keep you posted.

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