Video Memorial for Werner Barbye

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EDIT: My dad wrote an explanation of the three songs in this video:

There are three songs on the video.  The first is “Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden” which is traditionally played whenever a German soldier dies.  The second is “Nach Meiner Heimat“, a song about going back to your hometown.

The third song was especially sentimental to Dad.  “Antje Mein Blondes Kind” was the song that saved his life in WWII and he would tear up every time he heard it.  Dad was in a bombed out building in Italy on the ground floor trying to contact the base with a field radio transmitter.  There were several other soldiers of his battalion on the second floor keeping lookout when “Antje Mein Blondes Kind” came on their shortwave radio.  They called for Dad to come up and listen to it but Dad insisted on continuing to make contact with base.  The guys yelled down that the song would soon be over and for Dad to hurry upstairs.  Dad was annoyed at their constant interruptions and finally took off his headphones and proceeded to go up the stairs.  About half way up the stairs, a bomb hit the corner where his field radio was.  The enemy had triangulated the transmission signals and bombed the radio location.
I still love and miss you, Opa.

Werner A. Barbye, 1925-2015.

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On Sunday, I had to say goodbye to Opa, my paternal grandfather. He was 89.

Opa and I after my graduation from pharmacy school

Opa and I after my graduation from pharmacy school

He was predeceased by his loving wife Elfriede:

He was admitted to the hospital on Thursday, January 8 with pneumonia in his right lung. He was largely unresponsive at the hospital, so the decision was made to bring him back to the nursing home and begin hospice care. After receiving the phone call from my mom with the details of the hospitalization, I made the decision to head home to New Jersey for the weekend to spend time with Opa and my family. In retrospect, this was probably the best decision I’ve made in recent memory. Opa passed away very peacefully with our family by his side on Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 4:00pm.

My memories of Opa are fond, and were brought back to life as we looked through hundreds (thousands?) of old family pictures this past weekend. Trips to the Aquatic Swim Club, Christmases in Oma and Opa’s basement, and walks around their neighborhood were well-chronicled, as Opa was often seen with camera in hand. We used to walk up Bullens Lane to the I-476 overpass, where Oma and Opa would let us stand up against the fence and pump our arms in hopes that a few big rigs would honk their air horns (you know what I’m talking about, right?) We would sit at the corner of MacDade Boulevard and count how many car carriers would drive by, anxiously waiting for Oma and Opa to let us have a few Gummibären. I still remember how Opa taught us the “right way” to pronounce Hechinger. Opa traveled with my family and I to Germany in 1998, where we celebrated Oma’s 70th birthday. From marching in the Steuben Parade in Philadelphia as a child, to drinking fine German Weißbier today, Opa taught me to always be proud of my German heritage.

Opa fought in the German army in World War II. He was captured as a prisoner of war by the Americans and was held at Camp Pickett in Virginia. I remember him telling me that, even as a prisoner of war, that was the best he was ever treated during the war. I’m fortunate to say I’ve heard some stories that will never be published in any history book.

In Opa’s later years, he and Oma moved into the Woodbury Mews, an assisted living facility not far from my parents’ house in New Jersey. Oma’s progressing Alzheimer’s dementia and Opa’s progressing Parkinson’s disease necessitated more advanced care than we would have been able to provide. Opa used to visit his bride every day, despite living on opposite sides of the Mews (Oma lived in a special dementia unit that provided closer supervision and care for patients with advanced memory disorders.) I vividly remember sitting by Oma’s bedside with Opa many times, but especially when Oma had been placed on hospice care. That was the only time in my entire life that I’ve seen Opa cry.

If you’ve read this far, thank you. If you’ve called or texted me or my family, thank you. If you’ve expressed your condolences via Facebook, thank you. Your support, thoughts, and prayers have helped my family through this difficult time. Opa’s memory will live on forever. Please stay tuned to Facebook for funeral service details.

As I’ve posted on Facebook, the German word for “goodbye” is “auf wiedersehen.” Literally, this can be roughly translated to “until we see (each other) again.”

Ich liebe dich, Opa. Auf wiedersehen.

A Retail Pharmacist’s Opinion on Tamiflu.

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“What do you MEAN you’re out of stock?!”

This blog post is brought to you by the patient who had a prescription for #30 Tamiflu 75mg sent to our pharmacy by his primary care physician “just in case” he got sick. (That’s three 5-day treatment courses.) The blatant disregard for public health by both the patient and the prescriber made my blood boil. Here’s a little history on Tamiflu, for those of you who may not be familiar with it.

Tamiflu (oseltamivir) is an anti-viral drug that is FDA approved for the treatment of acute, uncomplicated influenza in patients 2 weeks of age and older who have been symptomatic for no more than 2 days, and for the prophylaxis of influenza in patients 1 year and older. What exactly does that mean? It’s approved to treat the flu if you’re at least two weeks of age, and you start taking it within two (2) days of your first symptoms, or to prevent the flu (“prophylaxis”). It’s usually given twice daily for five days (treatment) or once daily for 10 days (prophylaxis).

Now, there’s a few caveats to using Tamiflu. It hasn’t been shown to be effective after 48 hours of symptom onset. It’s not a replacement for the annual flu vaccine. I repeat:  It’s not a replacement for the annual flu vaccine. It’s also not approved for other types of viruses (like the cold virus, which coincidentally seems to strike around the same time as the flu).

For those of you who do not work in the pharmacy world, Tamiflu has historically seen shortages in past flu seasons – and this flu season is no exception. It’s been on backorder from various wholesalers, and pharmacies are exhausting their current inventory left and right. The fact that this patient wanted three boxes of Tamiflu “just in case” absolutely frustrated me. While I don’t know the circumstances, I would guess that the patient didn’t get their flu shot, and now they’re scared about getting the flu. Maybe they saw all the media coverage about how this year’s flu vaccine wasn’t a perfect match for the strain of flu that is making people sick (for the record – making a vaccine that’s a perfect match a full year ahead of time is tough. It’s trying to predict the future.) Perhaps the patient is just greedy, and wants to make sure his Zombie Apocalypse Kit has enough Tamiflu for their family.

In clinical studies, Tamiflu shortened the duration of flu an average of 1.3 days. That’s right, an extra day of wellness. One day. Is it worth the cost? One course of treatment can easily cost $100 or more, and not much better with some insurance plans. For some people, of course, it’s worth it. But does everyone who gets a runny nose, cough, and body aches absolutely need to spend the money on this? By the time you schedule a doctor’s appointment, get a prescription, bring it to the pharmacy, (the pharmacy may have to order it), and begin your treatment, you’ve already used up the day that it’s going to save you.

Now, for someone who has a weakened immune system, or a patient who has been hospitalized, of course the circumstances are different. One journal article looked at using Tamiflu outside the standard dosing regimens. It was found that Tamiflu improved survival if used within five days for patients hospitalized to the Intensive Care Unit, but showed little to no benefit in other populations.

Influenza is a serious illness, albeit one with proven prevention and treatment strategies. Please, everyone, get your flu shot! If you do come down with an illness during flu season, you should visit your doctor to make sure that what you have is indeed the flu and not just a cold. Visit your doctor, but be aware that Tamiflu may not help you if you’ve had symptoms for more than 48 hours, or if you don’t actually have the flu virus. When in doubt, feel free to ask your family pharmacist! (Just don’t bring us a prescription for 30 capsules of Tamiflu. We will judge you, and we will likely turn you away because we don’t have it.)

2015: A prospective look.

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Everyone makes New Year resolutions, but we all know they seldom make it past Valentine’s Day (if we’re lucky). I’ve been guilty of this for at least the past few years now. Perhaps if I document my goals for this year, I will (theoretically) be forced to hold myself accountable and make sure at least a few of them get done (and maybe you can help me reach them). In 2015, I hope to…

(In no particular order)

  1. Live healthier. This means watching my portion sizes, hitting the gym more, and making healthier choices. I’ll park further away when I go shopping, I’ll choose water over soda, and I’ll limit myself when I drink beer. I’ll choose salad over soup, and skip dessert, even if it looks amazing. This is going to be tough for me, so I will appreciate any help I can get.
  2. Advance my career. The role of the pharmacist is constantly changing, and I’m going to have to adapt to that. Some more specific goals in this category are:
    1. Become a Certified Asthma Educator (AE-C).
    2. Complete the American Pharmacists Association Pharmacy-Based Travel Health Services Advanced Competency Training Program. (I’m registered to do this at APhA2015 in San Diego in March).
    3. Give a Continuing Education (CE) program at a local, state, or national pharmacy meeting.
  3. Travel. I love traveling, and I love traveling even more with the people I love. I already have some ideas, some trips planned, and some tickets already bought. Here’s what my year may look like:
    1. Philadelphia in February.
    2. San Diego in March.
    3. Albuquerque in August?
  4. Serve my Fraternity. I’ve gotten so much from Phi Delta Chi, so it’s time I give back. (Brothers, if you’re reading this, here’s where AAAE comes in) My goals for 2015 include:
    1. Run for a National Office.
    2. Charter an Alumni Chapter.

If you haven’t had time (or haven’t made time) to think about how you’re going to make the most of 2015, I would challenge you to do so. Best of luck, and here’s to a great year!

Blessed.

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Hello everyone! I’ve tried starting a blog once or twice in the past, but it always seems to fizzle out. Now that I don’t have school consuming my time, I think I’ll finally be able to dedicate some time to writing quality posts that you’ll hopefully want to read and will start looking forward to.

As the year comes to a close, it gives me a chance to look back on what’s happened in the past year. I will definitely say that 2014 has topped the list, and I’m incredibly blessed to be able to say so. I’m also very lucky to have my lovely girlfriend Melissa as a companion on my journey!

In April, I was fortunate to attend APhA2014, the annual meeting of the American Pharmacists Association in Orlando, Florida. This would mark my last APhA meeting as a student pharmacist. In addition to meeting pharmacists and student pharmacists from across the country and attending the scheduled programming, I was able to visit Epcot!

The month of May brought one of the proudest moments in my life so far. After many (many, many) years in college, I finally earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. After passing the NAPLEX and Maryland Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE), I became a registered pharmacist in the State of Maryland. I began a job at an independent pharmacy on the Eastern Shore of Maryland as a clinical pharmacist. Helping patients on a daily basis gives my life purpose.

I was also invited to attend the Pharmacy Leadership and Education Institute (PLEI) Leader Development Seminar (LDS) in Tampa, Florida as a facilitator. It was my first LDS, and I was fortunate enough to be able to help some of my Phi Delta Chi Brothers realize and capitalize upon their leadership potential. We truly are Leaders in Pharmacy!

The summer came to a close, and I welcomed fall by attending my first baseball game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (I actually saw three O’s games there this year, including two ALCS games — all thanks to friends!) I got to spend my birthday in Baltimore with Melissa and some of my favorite Brothers.

I also planned a weekend away with Melissa for her birthday while fulfilling a dream of mine:  spending Phi Delta Chi Founders’ Day at Alpha Chapter at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It was humbling to visit the old stomping grounds where our Founding Fathers met and founded our Fraternity back in 1883. We got to visit the gravesite of Albert Benjamin Prescott, where we paid our respects during a very emotional ceremony with the Alpha Brothers and their pledges.

This Christmas was amazing as always, and I’m blessed to have so many generous people in my life. But all presents aside, the moments I enjoyed the most were the ones spent with my family, Melissa, and my friends. Those are the real gifts, and they’re priceless.

Well, there you have it. My year in less than 400 words. Even though 2014 proved to be a roller coaster of emotions at times, it’s been my family and friends who have helped me through it, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. If you’ve read this far, thank you. Stay tuned for future updates!