you're just going to leave us with that? really?
Well, there's a lot more too it obviously. Here's the long--although still condensed--explanation:
I had wanted to be a country western singer at age four, a lawyer at age seven, and a crime scene investigator at age nine. It wasn't until I was sixteen that I even thought about being a physician.
I began seeing a psychiatrist when I was six years old and this was my first taste of anything besides a pediatrician. Seeing a psychiatrist was also what made me realize that a strong doctor-patient relationship is not valued by the physician as much as it should be.
I began seeing a neurologist when I was eight. Dr. Gerbani was the first (and only) doctor that I looked up to. He was kind, compassionate, and determined to help me live a long, fulfilling life. It was at this point that I realized a stong doctor-patient relationship was possible.
I began seeing a gastroenterologist at age thirteen. At this point I had my first procedure and subsequently my first surgery. It was at this point that I really began researching what my multiple conditions. I spent night after night reading my Merck Manual of Medical Information. I focused on my conditions however, and did not go much further.
When I was seventeen I was, yet again, in the doctor's office. I had an LNI claim for a herniated disc and subsequent pinched nerve. I went to a total of three IME (Independent medical examiner) appointments and was amazed at the callous, cold manner of the physicians. In order to impress them (and make the situation a bit less awkward!), I threw out there that I wanted to be a physician. The responses were surprising. All three IMEs tried to deter me from this idea. Which, undoubtedly, is what really planted the seed.
I continued to see a number of doctors (anesthesiologists, gastroenterologists, oncologists, neurologists, occupational medicine doctors, and more) and could not believe that these professionals, who had spent tens of thousands of dollars and years preparing for their profession were so unhappy.
And yet, as I continued to receive different diagnoses from unhappy physicians, I became more enthralled with medicine. I would sacrifice school work to instead study the mechanics of the body. After I had learned all that I could about my own conditions, I graduated to studying diseases and conditions that I had heard of but knew nothing about.
I have always been interested in science. Of all the subjects I was willing to sacrifice to learn about the human body, science was the exception. Nothing else can hold a match to my interest in science and medicine.
In a way, my interest began because I was told that I couldn't/shouldn't begin an affair with medicine.
