First a shout out- to a couple of very special people that helped me when it was clear I was kinda down and out for the count. Bryan and Kristy you know who you are 🙂 Thank YOU!

I typically stray away from sharing any aspect of what motivates me- or causes me to totally ramp down in terms of presenting a cheery faced- we are BOLD and Excited to be what we are and who we are becoming.

But to be honest? I cant say I’m really excited to just go off on a some sort of of “I love Perfusion” tangent. At least not at this very moment. I think we have all seen too much shit these last few years- watching COVID patients’ die the most horrible of slow lingering deaths- and having to show up every day expecting a different outcome. Which typically is exponentially worse and more horrible than a mass murderer can anticipate prior to being put down.

It’s Not fun- and no way to sugar coat it.

Plain and simple? It’s NOt pretty.

I’m not really the kind of person that labels transitions or patches of life as good, bad, or transitional for that matter. I look at life as black and white and try to eliminate the gray areas that sometimes lead us to try to rationalize or hope our way into an alternative outcome to the one that we currently find ourselves in.

I’m not into clichés, so I don’t really throw them out there. What I do, and what I have always done when writing for my blog, CircuitSurfers.com, is to be brutally honest and be as real as possible because our profession demands it.

I want to let everyone out there know that the blog CircuitSurfers.com that I created 12 years ago, and has reached over 2 million people, 154 countries, with roughly 2,500 posts that I have personally written – and shared to my readership, that blog has now reached the end of its shelf life.

That does not mean it no longer has value, clinical relevance- or potential, as it contains an incredible amount of clinical anecdotes, personal insights, and thoughts and notes that were written specifically to target my fellow perfusion colleagues.

It has been my pleasure to share with you my thoughts, and my honor that you would receive them and actually acknowledge them as something worthwhile that has perhaps affected you, or effected you to adjust your practice, or at least revisit some of the personal insights that I’ve shared to you, the global perfusion community. I am humbled by the so many comments that CircuitSurfers.com has generated whether positive or negative – it really didn’t matter – the fact is, it’s spurred thoughts and dialogues that I believe have brought us closer together and improved our overall self-awareness of where we stand in the medical practice of this cardiac arena and how deeply we impact it.

I think that one of the things about this particular blog that makes it uniquely different is that I shared both successes and failures, and pried underneath the surface of some of the things we all find hard to digest or to truly enunciate in terms of our recognition of the challenges we face whether clinically, psychologically, or morally for that matter. I’ve always felt that clinical honesty is the absolute constituent that we must always honor. We all know that we make mistakes, and that those mistakes can lead to outcomes too unsettling to really consider in terms of the quality of life that our patients may or may not have to endure or experience as a consequence of our proficiency or lack thereof.

What needs to be said is that CircuitSurfers.com has lost the author that created it.

In other words- I’m out. Not by choice- but due to inaction.

That fact alone does not diminish the accomplishments that I believe CircuitSurfers has delivered to the soul of perfusion. I consider it an inspiring effort to look at the human side of what we do, as well as deliver a blue-collar lay man’s identity and resource to anyone that really wants to know what perfusion is about. In that aspect, I believe this blog made serious inroads. Of that I am proud.

There is no “from the ashes – rises the Phoenix” moment here. Simply stated, this not really a transition – it’s not a metamorphosis, and it’s not a reboot nor is it a version 2.0.

I have moved forward to finish a project that has been a lifelong goal and that aspiration is to write a book that resonates in our community in all the ways that my initial blog has already done. More importantly- Yes, I want it to be more than just a Social Media event, not a beacon, just a personal note as you drink your morning coffee, that you are the only person in your hospital, and perhaps the city, or even the region- that can do what we do. And that Imo? is an honor for sure 🙂

So this is to welcome you to “The tips of Spears” as that is the title of the book I intend to publish regarding our lives as perfusionists. I’m not competing with myself here, for that matter I’m not competing with anyone. What I am doing however is writing a personal essay about one of the most dynamic professions in the world and the medical profession.

Today, at hospital 60, I had one of the most enjoyable lunches with a gaggle of CRNA’s all out of VCU, here in Richmond, Virginia.

It was fun, because I realized when I spoke to them that they never see us because there are so few of us. They commented, “we never see you guys because you’re always busy or squirreled away somewhere in a heart room- like forever”  That cracked me up. And reviewing today, it reminded me of how extremely specialized we are, how exceptionally rare we are, and that we are perceived as very unique animals – in the world of medicine. We laughed because we shared the fact that in all honestly?  The only people that actually know what we’re doing? Is ourselves.

So it has to be exhilarating to at least 99% of the people reading this – at least the ones that are perfusionists – to be a recognized as a part of the integral element in this very select atmosphere. That in my opinion is a rare honor.

So don’t please don’t say goodbye to CircuitSurfers.com, recognize it for what it developed… a steppingstone to an honest dialogue of who we are.

I welcome you to the Tips Of Spears.com.  We are not just a casual chapter in medicine anymore, we are becoming a part of the book.

Pump Strong!

Frank Aprile, BBA, LP, CCP,