My Life: My Most Expectable Medical Experience

My most memorable medical experience started with a fight over plantain chips. Luis, the little boy I was bargaining with, was a devout believer in the, “one for you, three for me,” school of thought; while I belonged to the, “everyone gets one chip,” principle. The debacle ended when I agreed to surrender the bag of chips if he would agree to take his Albendazole, an anti-parasitic medication, brought by the medical brigade to the make-shift clinic in rural Honduras where I had met Luis. My experience with this child that day will forever be unforgettable because I felt such a strong connection him. This connection stemmed from memories of my childhood where I relied on complete strangers for relief. When I was a child my father bounced around in the prison system, and my mother worked three jobs in order provide the bare minimum needed. Neighbors, friends, and churches all pitched in to …show more content…
Amidst the excitement, my life took an unexpected turn when I received the diagnoses of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In that moment, I had to step back from my goal of becoming a doctor, to becoming, instead, the patient. In looking for a, “silver lining” during that time, I was given the rare opportunity to consider the patient-physician relationship from both sides. As a patient, I did not care about my doctor’s medical credentials or how many publications she had. I wanted someone who was willing to listen to me as a human being and provide comfort and knowledge when no one else could. I respected my physicians for having the knowledge to treat me, but I valued their ability to provide care with humanity and compassion. I needed my physician to fight for me when I could not. I want to be a physician so I can fight the seemingly hopeless battles for my patients when they cannot; equally, I want to have the knowledge and skill to fight with the best of my