Precetorship
...certainly be nice to be able to control and prevent all of this messiness”. Sadly, my first inclination to study medicine was fueled by the slightly less than noble, altruistic, and lofty ideals of preventing my own discomfort in the presence of diarrhea and vomit. Her X-Rays completed, I whisked Evelyn back to her room hoping only for a personal reprieve from her continuous fluid excretions. Eight years later, as a physical therapy technician in the same hospital, I find that it is not myself, but Mr. Santiago who is awaiting a reprieve. Almost two weeks after his stroke, the paralyzed right side of the Hispanic carpenter seems to weigh as heavily on his mind as it does his body. His frustration at his half working body is apparent. The continual encouragement from the therapist and myself seem to provide the added boost needed to finish his therapy twice a day. For the past four years I have seen many patients like Mr. Santiago, and I have come to understand that while diseases may attack specific body parts, it is the whole person that becomes sick. As Mr. Santiago awkwardly struggles, both physically and emotionally to use his new cane, he demonstrates the intimate interconnection between humanity and malady. No longer do I find irritation in the sickness and disease around me. As Mr. Santiago slowly and cautiously steps forward, I give him a smile and applaud him oh his first new steps. Almost a decade after I first stepped into Bayonet Point Hospital, I find that it is the purveyors of all that “messiness”, the patients, that are now drawing me to medicine. While I still find fascination and intrigue in the science that drives the evolution of modern medicine, these interests are overshadowed by my desire to aid and bring comfort to those people whose frustration and fear seem only to compound their illness. The greater compassion and understanding that I have today has been learned from patients like Evelyn and Mr. Santiago, but other lessons in my life, lessons about belief in self, faith, and dedication were learned elsewhere. They were learned in the United States Navy. “Rigorous self discipline and unrelenting determination are the keys to achieving any worthwhile goal”. Chief Petty Officer Ayala ranted this as his black boots stomped through our barracks during my first fearful week of boot camp. I buffered my time between jobs as patient transporter and PT technician with the oft reply of “Aye-Aye Sir”. I decided to join the Navy due to the lack of options presented to me by my less than stelle...