the specific area of medicine i work in isn't always the most gratifying....i'm not a surgeon...i'm not even a doctor...and i rarely get to fix anyone. i won't make one of those USA Today Top 100 healthcare provider lists based on my cure rate. some days i wish i had more wins....but most days i know that i'm exactly in the right place, even if it isn't recognized with banners and trumpets!

teachers are told not to have favorite students; i think most teachers do have favorites. the same thing happens for me. i honestly treat everyone medically the same, but you have patients and families that you connect with on a deeper level. the more you invest, the more you get hurt. that is true in all aspects of life.

all this to say that i lost a father of 4 a couple weeks ago. his wife said that i looked like his old girlfriend, which is why she thought he liked me so much! (they have been married 20 years). she and i got along wonderfully, which made it okay! they had a whole community of support behind them and after his passing, they gave me a t-shirt that the local high school football team had made as a fundraiser. now, i do cry or get watery-eyed pretty often in my job....and this was no exception. it is hands down one of the two best gifts that i have gotten from a patient....not the item itself, but the t-shirt was an expression of thankfulness for what his family and the medical team had tried to do. we tried to give him as much time as possible. it resulted in sadness, but also a mutual respect and admiration. the interactions with my patients are priceless and the stress, tears, and nights with a heavy heart are worth it...my role might not allow me to cure as often as i would like, but it opens the door for emotional depth that few other careers offer.

okay, not the best pic ever, but it shows the shirt.