New This Week

at Dr. Robin's School

Hi Reader,

Two friends texted me this week after watching my latest video. Both of them cried. Same reason.

I was terrified of my first well-woman exam. And like a lot of women, I'd had some pretty bad experiences before medical school. A lot of awkwardness. A lot of rushing. A lot of just tolerating it.

And then I learned how to do them myself. And I was determined to do it differently.

So when I had my own practice, I had huge calico drapes my mom had sewn, covered with flowers and rabbits. And hot air balloons hanging from the ceiling for people to look at. I had my specula stored in a drawer with a heater so they were always warm.

And I had a very large hand mirror.

Because so many women had never actually looked at themselves. They called it "down there." No one had ever taught them beyond a quick fill-in-the-diagram and let's never speak of this again.

And when someone doesn't have language for their own body, they can't advocate for themselves. They can't explain their symptoms. They can't say this doesn't seem right.

Together with You,
Dr. Robin

👉 Watch on YouTube ​

🎬 The Feature Lab

This week's video is one of the most personal things Dr. Robin has recorded and it's the story of this week's email.

She talks about the hand mirror she kept in her exam room and what happened when women saw their own anatomy for the first time.

And she ends with what her own teenage son said after growing up in a household where bodies were treated like any other part of science.

"Mom, you took all the fun out of it."

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📥 Resource Bench

Free this week: a lung model project you can do at home.

This is one of the hands-on projects from MedPath, a simple, visual model that shows how the lungs actually work, not just what they look like. It's the kind of thing that makes a kid say "oh, THAT'S what's happening" and really understand it.

It's also a small taste of LifePath: One Body for Life, our new year-long complete program coming very soon, where projects like this are built into every unit so families have something to do together, not just watch and read. But for now, it's just a free download. No enrollment required. Create the Model Now!

📚 What I'm Reading

This month's Book Club pick is The Truth According to Blue by Eve Yohalem, a middle grade adventure about a girl with Type 1 Diabetes and her diabetic alert dog hunting for pirate's treasure. Whether or not you join the club, the book is a really fun story and helps young readers understand what it's like to live with Type 1 Diabetes.

If your child is in MedPath or LifePath, you have an email inviting you to join book club already!

If your child is a bit younger and needs a shorter book or prefers a school story over an adventure, another great book featuring a main character with diabetes is Another D for DeeDee by Bibi Belford.

DeeDee is a fourth grader navigating a new school, a missing dad, and a recent diabetes diagnosis. Her new neighbor River, who wears cochlear implants, turns out to be exactly the friend she needs. It's a warm, honest middle grade novel that handles both diabetes and disability with respect without it being the main thing about the characters. Find it online: ​ 📖 Check your local library on WorldCat 🛍️ Support independent bookstores on Bookshop.org​

That's all for this week! Happy Learning!

Questions? Get one-on-one assistance from Nurse Jill Cooper. Reply to this email, schedule office hours with Jill, or text or call 720-257-9030. Business hours are 9-5 M-F MST, closed for school holidays.