"Acute viral gastroenteritis with paralytic ileus" was the diagnosis on the medical records from March 1971 when I left Methodist Hospital in Houston at the age of 16. After my last post about "seminal events" this was my own version of a a life changing experience which brought my professional passion into focus. I moved from an interest in biology to a determination that a career as a physician was the goal.
I have some very clear memories of this ten day hospital stay and some that have faded over the years. I'll be returning to this story to explore in more detail how and why the experience catalyzed the dream. There were also facets of the experience that were so vintage 1970's that I laugh in retrospect.
I've always identified this event as the start of my journey. The reasons for the infatuation (remember this was the mind of a 16 year old) had more to do with charisma and fantasy than a sudden commitment to a life of service in the care of the ill. My doctor was young and attractive. The comings and goings of the hospital staff as they tended to my every need, the blood tests and xrays, and the delirium of the illness crystallized into a vision of myself as the one in my doctor's shoes, directing the show and witnessing the miracle as health returned to my patients. Overly dramatic? I think not.
Weeks after my discharge from the hospital, home in Aruba recovering and eating everything in sight to re-gain the lost weight of a ten day stint with minimal caloric intake, I told my parents, "I want to be a doctor".
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