I thought of my self as an odds-beater, and in many ways I still do. Not just any individual can manage to contract Lyme disease not once, but twice, have shingles before even entering adulthood, possess fractured foot bones that look shockingly similar to that of a prehistoric creature, or offer sideways smiles through a pesky case of torticollis. Some of my statistical defiance was chance, while some was self-produced. As a child, playing piano with traditional posture seemed too ordinary; instead I played backwards with my eyes closed. Awareness that many of my friends did not know how to back up a boat trailer, clean out a drain trap, or pay their own bills motivated me to master the tasks. It was easy being the exception to the norm, because
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I remember stopping on childhood walks through Wisconsin’s Northwoods to study animals in the road. If alive, I gently moved it to the grass. If dead, I carefully prodded it with a stick to explore its intricate organs. I have moved beyond studying road kill, but I still have the same sense of curiosity and appreciation for the body, along with the desire to heal it. As I progressed through school, I grew increasingly frustrated with science, only later to realize it was because early science could only teach me “what” and would not answer my burning questions of “why” and “how.” Finally in college, some of my questions were answered, and my liberal arts courses ignited a fire within me. Just like throwing gas on the flames, my research experiences fueled my passion for science, medicine, and learning to levels I did not know were possible. In an intellectual way, I beat the odds throughout this process; I wanted nothing less than to take on the paramount challenge of being a physician. To me, it was the ultimate, statistically improbable combination of my passions: my love for science, working with people, and awe of the human body. However, through all of this, my focus was on myself and the scientific aspects of medicine. I felt fulfilled by learning. I felt joy in helping others. I felt the adrenaline rush of new research …show more content…
I found myself in the streets of Rome with no recollection of where I was or how I got there, but remembering fragments of the assault. I never dreamed I would experience Italian healthcare from a patient’s perspective, but for this I am strangely grateful. The most meaningful experiences in my life have been my most difficult ones, yet somehow, they have also turned out to be the most beautifully transformative. Without words, my physician offered a quality of care I had never experienced. She needed no verbal language; she spoke the language of humanity. Her gaze, gestures, touch, and tender expressions pervaded the personal space to which I was so accustomed. Because of her, my perceptions of myself as a future physician blossomed from a focus on science to a focus on the patient as a unique, dignified
I remember stopping on childhood walks through Wisconsin’s Northwoods to study animals in the road. If alive, I gently moved it to the grass. If dead, I carefully prodded it with a stick to explore its intricate organs. I have moved beyond studying road kill, but I still have the same sense of curiosity and appreciation for the body, along with the desire to heal it. As I progressed through school, I grew increasingly frustrated with science, only later to realize it was because early science could only teach me “what” and would not answer my burning questions of “why” and “how.” Finally in college, some of my questions were answered, and my liberal arts courses ignited a fire within me. Just like throwing gas on the flames, my research experiences fueled my passion for science, medicine, and learning to levels I did not know were possible. In an intellectual way, I beat the odds throughout this process; I wanted nothing less than to take on the paramount challenge of being a physician. To me, it was the ultimate, statistically improbable combination of my passions: my love for science, working with people, and awe of the human body. However, through all of this, my focus was on myself and the scientific aspects of medicine. I felt fulfilled by learning. I felt joy in helping others. I felt the adrenaline rush of new research …show more content…
I found myself in the streets of Rome with no recollection of where I was or how I got there, but remembering fragments of the assault. I never dreamed I would experience Italian healthcare from a patient’s perspective, but for this I am strangely grateful. The most meaningful experiences in my life have been my most difficult ones, yet somehow, they have also turned out to be the most beautifully transformative. Without words, my physician offered a quality of care I had never experienced. She needed no verbal language; she spoke the language of humanity. Her gaze, gestures, touch, and tender expressions pervaded the personal space to which I was so accustomed. Because of her, my perceptions of myself as a future physician blossomed from a focus on science to a focus on the patient as a unique, dignified