A page from my story:

 

Parents push their children to be  their best. I originally wanted to be a teacher. Who knew I would become a teacher of a different kind who  was blessed to guide people through some of the most special stages in their lives.

 

 In  my grade school years my mom got sick and needed a lot of care. We saw a lot of doctors, but never understood what and why things were done. It was just "necessary."  No one explained anything to her in a way she could understand. No one listened.  She just did " what the doctor told her to do." Maybe her accent, gender, skin color, social status, or sub par insurance defaulted her to poor care.  We never felt a part of the decisions in our care. I couldn't help but feel powerless and frustrated in being shuffled through what I know now as a complicated disjointed system. These experiences motivated me to become a doctor who cared enough to stop-- listen intently and with kind purpose to help direct my patients to their goals and navigate their way. 

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Years later I sat across from a seasoned woman in her 70s with gray tousled hair. She presented with severe back pain and was found to have fractures of the bones in her back. A large mass in her breast suggested that breast cancer had spread all through her body causing the breaks that now physically broke her back. She managed a smile while we talked. I asked if she knew what was going on? She knew something was not right. She had felt the mass growing in her chest for some time. Why did you wait? I asked. And my heart sank in shock to hear: " I did not want them to take my breast. I did not want to be less of a woman."  I saw the regret wash over her, yet I saw the pride in defending her dignity and identity as a person and not a cancer. We sat there at her bedside for some time talking. I thanked my short white coat as it gave me time. We talked about her family, dreams, regrets, and fears.  I transferred services and never knew what became of her. I still think about her and see the essence of humanity in her eyes which I look for in my patients now.  I remind myself each time I reach for the chart to remember the person sitting in front of me. 

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I have been fortunate to share in many sensitive moments in my career to date.  I played make believe with a little boy with a new diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. He was a super hero. I smiled with a first time mom holding the miracle we just delivered. I empathized with the single mom with daily pain who works taking care of others to care for their family but often forgets herself. I encouraged the diabetic man terrified of needles who was struggling with insulin shots. I comforted the person and their family who had cancer and chose to carry out the remainder of their life comfortably at home in their own bed on their terms. These are the blessings of my life's work.

 

I carry the gift of the opportunities my patients have given me as I help more people. They help me learn about the human spirit. Their stories and experiences build and impress on to me again a reminder to look  deeper than the illness of the person in front of me so I can be the best doctor I can be for them. 

 

I choose DPC so I can take the time to walk with patients on their journey.