The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society Med Journal June 2020 | Page 4

Commentary
Proud to be an Arkansan
by sandra johnson, md, FAAD
I am proud to be an Arkansan. Those are words
I would not have predicted myself saying before
1995. I grew up in Ohio and planned to be
a Buckeye for life. As a good young American,
I was not very good at geography and was not
even sure where Arkansas was on the map.
However, as Woody Allen says, “If you want
to make God laugh, then tell him your plans.” I
moved to Arkansas in 1996, met the love of my
life, and made Arkansas home. Fast forward
to Easter weekend April 2020: I am saying the
words “I am proud to be an Arkansan” regularly
and writing an editorial telling anyone who
would listen (or read) that I am proud to be an
Arkansan.
We are in the midst of the Covid pandemic. We
are social distancing. We are trying to flatten
the curve. We are living a new normal. We are
trying to provide essential medical care. We
are rationing personal protective equipment.
We are counting medical personnel and ventilators.
We are paying less than $2.00 per gallon
of gas. We are hoping to avoid a recession.
We are seeing people lose their jobs. We are
homeschooling our kids. We are living with our
college-aged children who we picked up from
college last month. We are all living a new normal.
We are all in this together, but alone.
So, with this pandemic, why am I regularly
thanking God that I am an Arkansan? Well,
because we are all in this together, but alone.
We have phenomenal leadership. We (Brad
and I) enjoy watching the daily press conferences
from our amazing governor. Gov. Asa
Hutchinson is the bomb. He is navigating these
uncharted waters with ease. He presents the
details, creates the plans, encourages us to
make good choices, and makes us all feel comfortable
with this new normal.
Every day, the governor highlights another
great Arkansan who is doing his or her part
to help all of us. One of those great people is
Heather Larkin, president and CEO of the Arkansas
Community Foundation. She created
an account and secured a lot of funds to help
Arkansans in need. We have a selfless, hardworking
director of the Arkansas Department
of Health, Dr. Nate Smith. Dr. Smith is making
hard choices and doing it skintastically. Many
people from UAMS, the governor’s office,
ADH, the Legislature, etc., are leading by example
in both word and deed. We are all wearing
masks to limit spreading contagions and,
as Gov. Hutchinson said, we are doing it with
style (#fashionweek).
My favorite hero through all of this is my
brother-in-law, Lee Johnson. I do not know
how many hats he wears, but he wears them
all well. He is an emergency physician, a legislator,
director of emergency medical services
for our community, and a local medical expert
for the media. He rises to every challenge and
does it with kindness and grace. It would be
easier to count the hours he has not worked or
volunteered during the past two months than
to count the number of hours he has worked.
He is an inspiration to me. His wife and family
are also sacrificing and inspiring Arkansans,
including me.
If my favorite daily show
is the governor’s press
conference, my favorite
nonprofit is Arkansas
Community Foundation,
and my favorite hero is Lee, then I should also
state that my favorite source for information is
the AMS Covid-19 Daily Update. We have all
been bombarded with Covid information from
so many sources, it became difficult for me to
look at all of it. The AMS Covid-19 Daily Update
provides clear, concise, correct information
that is practical to me as a practicing physician
and business owner. I appreciate the concise
reviews with URL links to more information.
This update helps me to navigate telemedicine,
loan applications, PPE availability, number of
Covid cases, and more.
I could elaborate for a long time about why I
am proud to be an Arkansan and who my favorite
Covid heroes are, but I have a word limit.
I would enjoy hearing why all of you are proud
to be Arkansans and who your favorite Arkansas
heroes are during this Covid pandemic.
As Mr. Rogers says, “Look for the helpers.”
The helpers are the true heroes. Thank you for
being a helper and a hero. Not all helpers and
heroes wear capes; some wear white coats and
scrubs. Stay safe and healthy and skintastic.
Have a skintastic day!
Keeping Physicians In Mind
and Informed
Visit ARKMED.org/COVID19 to sign
up for our latest updates, as well as to
view resources on financial assistance,
telemedicine, and PPE.
268 • The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society www.ArkMed.org