Tiny Medicine: One Doctor's Biggest Lessons from His Smallest Patients

by Chris DeRienzo

Imagine holding a baby girl's life in your hands - now imagine she's no bigger than a soda can. Every year, nearly 4 million babies are born in the United States. Most arrive safely and go home with their families in a matter of days. But not all babies come into the world healthy and almost half a million arrive well before they are expected. These newborns need tiny medicine. Told from the first-person perspective, Dr. Chris DeRienzo - a neonatologist, health system leader and frequent keynote speaker - walks readers through the human experience of caring for the world's smallest and sickest patients. Readers will learn the secrets of the NICU, the loneliness that comes with life and death decisions, and the incredibly powerful sense of purpose and triumph that comes with just making it through the night and keeping everyone alive. In the end, this book delivers an insider's view of what it's really like to serve the world's tiniest humans.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

224 pages, Paperback

Published June 11, 2019

Reviews

[India M. Clamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a year's time, almost 4 million babies flow out from an amniotic fluid wet deluge into the arms of a pediatrician and then on to their family. Out of the four million babies, 500,000 come into the world before their time. These tiny “klein” bundles need specialized medicine; and that’s where keynote speaker Dr. Chris DeRienzo---a neonatologist---augments our journey into caring for sick and small patients that fit in a shoebox measuring 13 x 7.5 x 4 inches (33 x 19 x 10 centimeters).

"In nothing do men more nearly approach the gods than in giving health to others."
---Cicero:Pro Ligario

Details of this journey help us to understand the utter protective nurses commonly found in the NICU and how detailed they are. Groups and company are not a companion of genius or the highly talented souls nurturing small patients to fruition. There is a void and utter silence that comes with making a decision to let a tiny soul go or to save it. Dr. DeRienzo is an unremarkable triathlete, amazing father, dedicated spouse and neonatologist endeavoring to improve the group health of Americans.

I found “Tiny Medicine: One Doctor's Biggest Lessons from His Smallest Patients” to be a somber yet truthful look into how precious life is. If we can visualize a little lady named Melinda (that is the size of a tall Starbucks paper cup) then you can imagine the detail, care and precision that is given to properly care for her. In the NICU, most professionals realize the need to deliver better care to babies is the goal. Absolute must read for those in need of inspiration. "Intellectum valde ama." Brilliant!

[Tricia]

When a baby is born and needs special care from doctors in the NICu, it can be a scary time for parents and loved ones; but we don't always have a sense of what that same experience is like for the doctors and hospital staff charged with helping the smallest patients get better. That is until now.

In this book, Dr. Chris DeRienzo gives readers a glimpse into the world of the NICU and what life is like for the doctors who treat the infants that need special care. He candidly describes such challenges in providing the lifesaving medicines and procedures that these babies sometimes need and explains how delicate and small-scale such treatments can be when compared to other areas of the hospital. Through examples of many of his own trials and triumphs, he gives us a picture from the viewpoint of a medical professional that we don't usually have the opportunity to see. This book takes readers through DeRenzio's education in med school clear up to his present work and discusses all aspects of the medical profession, from the long hours and difficult cases to the successes and advances in treatment that help save lives to life outside the hospital. It's an eye-opening read for those of us who see the inside of the hospital only as patients and don't often take time to wonder what it's like on the doctor's side.

I appreciated this book's readability. Sometimes when dealing with the medical field, the terminology itself can become overwhelming to someone unfamiliar with it, but that's not the case here. Although he talks about some very complex medical issues, Dr. DeRienzo does an excellent job in explaining everything in terms the average reader can comprehend. In addition, I loved how this book was a balance. There were hard subjects as is to be expected in a book about very sick children, but there were also triumphs and successes and smiles along the way. I both laughed and cried before I reached the final page, but at the end, I felt better informed and very hopeful about the future of medicine and the human aspect of those who choose to dedicate their lives to the profession.

The only warning I will give is probably an obvious one. If you are someone who has difficulty reading or hearing about difficulties at birth or illness in infants, you may want to consider giving this one a pass. It doesn't dwell on the negative, but there is some discussion of infant mortality and the challenges that come with treating very small, very ill infants. There are also many many success stories and stories of patients who left the hospital and went home healthy.

Bottom line: I would recommend this book to anyone who is curious to know what the life of a doctor is really like. More specifically, if you are interested in how very small babies are cared for and what treatments are available for them, this is an interesting read. Finally, if you want to meet someone who is dedicated to his profession and who seeks to give the public a glimpse into its private world where they might not ordinarily get to go, you should definitely read this book.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read, but I wanted MORE preemie stories and he kind of talked about other aspects of medicine and his life more than the actual preemies.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent book, well-written. It meandered quite a bit.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the MD point of view of taking care of these little ones. being a nurse that works in NICU it was nice seeing the Doctors point of view.

[Lexi Karrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book it seriously amazing! Such amazing insight in the mind of a neonatologist and a look into all the decisions they make daily. I am so thankful for my profession & in awe at how profound medicine truly is.

[Stephanie Hellmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, mostly because it is written so simply. By that I mean that he writes from his heart about his experiences as a student, an intern, and as NICU doctor. He is amazed at how quickly the world of medicine changes, and in turn, he gets us excited to learn more about his world. His main point is that doctors must use technology to give them more time with their patients. It's all about people! Very interesting read. Not bogged down in terminology or technical jargon. Lucky are the preemies who get Dr. Chris by their side!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm certain that this book deserves more stars than I gave it, but my personal experience reading it was not as impressive as I'd hoped because so much of it is technical, medical, and personal to the author, whereas I'm a sucker for the stories, themselves. Don't get me wrong, there were several heart-breaking/miraculous stories included, so I'm glad I had the chance to learn what this doctor went through and achieved. Simply incredible. Perhaps the most significant thing was just how compassionate and dedicated Dr. DeRienzo has been.

[Lexi Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful. inspiring. cried 50% of the book

[Emir Akel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a couple of books on prenatalogy, fetal medicine, neonatalogy and peidatrics; however Tiny Medicine is a unique book giving the readers and insiders account from a physcians perpective into the heart wrenching yet wonderful or even mystical world of Neonatalogy. Babies in spaceship like incubators at tiny as 360 grams trying ti hold back to life in the brink. Dr. DeRienzo shares his humbling experience as a medical student and later as a neonatalogy fellow and physician. The most important aspect however, stressed in the book is the importance of a human experience in medicine and medicine being prone to error as medical personal are only human. But, we can improve our medical systems in a Just Culture by not criticising the errors made but rather encouraging doctors to speak put and actively express their errors, so that the next could be prevented. Throughout the read you will find heartbroken moments where sometimes, even after all the effort and technology - some babies aren't saved while in some cases the miracle of "Walking on Water" happens with perserverence and extremely premature infants are dehospitalized after months in the neonatalpgy depratment and become rambunctious preschoolers. Tiny Medicine is a humbling and insightful book into the world of neonatalogy and what it means to work with the tiniest in Tiny Medicine.

[Anna Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the title, I didn't expect the book to include why the author decided to go to medical school, his time in residency, stories of other patients he treated besides in the NICU, etc. But, I found it fascinating nonetheless! I was not bogged down with medical jargon, and in fact he gave many relatable analogies to explain what I expect are some pretty complicated procedures and illnesses.

Some of the smallest babies born are the size and weight of a can of soda!?!? I cannot stop picturing that.

[Donna Sullivan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't make it to the end of this book. I found the author's tone irritating and condescending. I was very interested in the subject, but found it just too difficult to wade through the author's patting himself of the back on his medical expertise to finish the book. I have read other books written by doctors that are insightful and interesting, unfortunately this was definitely not the case in this instance. I recently read Dr. Rana Awdish's book "In Shock" for example and loved it.

[Amy Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth reading

Dr Chris was able to bring us into the NICU for a first hand look at what goes on there. He is humble enough to admit mistakes are made but we should learn from them. I have a friend that currently has a 24 week old baby in the NICU so I was eager to read this book. Very well done!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb

Having worked for seven years in a NICU/PICU, I found the patients and medical situations incredibly familiar. Dr. DeRienzo introduced me to the physician side of the equation. If only I were 30 years younger!!!
Loved this book!

[Csimplot Simplot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!!!

[Lauren Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written from the heart- compliments the journey of medical school and beyond with the loving lessons learned from the tiniest patients.

[Taryn Brenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good

I enjoyed reading it, even though he seemed to be rather sanctimonious in some of his views. It was good.

[Margaret Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written!

I appreciated the heart felt emotions from this doctor. I would want him treating one of my family members!
Definitely worth reading.

[Madeline Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book about life in the NICU!

[Phoebe Spahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me laugh and cry and also made me want to recommend it to every body I know, especially those who don’t know what it’s like in the NICU.

[Anna Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, easy and interesting to read.