“I have no idea what's awaiting me, or what will happen when this all ends. For the moment I know this: there are sick people and they need curing.” - Albert Camus, The Plague Last week as I was nearing my halfway point for this year out from medical school, I found myself in the right place at the right time listening to the right person saying the right thing. If you know me, you know I consider almost all situations I ever end up in to be serendipitous in some way or form – everything is part of a grand plan - but this was even beyond that. I had the pleasure of hearing the greatest stories ever told. An incredible surgeon was being recognized for his humanitarian efforts at the conference I was attending. He shared a scenario from the perspective of an ENT – the story of a child who had developed the ability to speak, and then stopped talking when he was a toddler. The boy was worked up and was found to have adrenoleukodystrophy. “In retrospect, I don’t know why I did, seeing as the condition was incurable, but I made house calls for this child and his family.” The parents were extremely engaged and their concern drew him towards wanting to care as much as he could for the child. As he continued these house calls over a period of time, the visits grew longer and longer. The boy’s father, who was an Italian banker, would spend a lot of time explaining to the surgeon about his quest to cure his son’s condition showing him a series of chemical equations he had been working on. The surgeon then changed the slide on his powerpoint presentation which had a picture of his patient and a press release – the boy’s name was Lorenzo and the press release was about a therapy the parents tirelessly rallied the medical research community to bring into existence. He wrapped up his talk discussing current concerns physicians have about payments. “I can’t believe I have the honor of getting up every morning and taking care of people who need me. People want to talk about pay cuts in medicine, but I can’t believe I get paid to do this. I take care of people who are grateful and thank me every single time at the end of each visit. What an honor. I can’t believe I get paid for this.” There were multiple heroes in the stories he told, but there was one overarching theme – that of compassion conquering all. One nervous step, one daring move at a time, we launch ourselves in to what we think is meant to be our role in the universe’s overall plan. Doubts, questions, uncertainty. Somewhere in the distance, there’s a lighthouse of destiny covered in fog that we move towards, ships sailing in the night with hearts brimming with compassion and determination. “But how will I know it's my destiny?' 'Like love, it will possess you. You can't help but know.” - Gail Tsukiyama. And I think to myself, here’s to endless compassion, and to the awaiting destiny, and to the constant fight against the unknown. It never ends, and maybe it shouldn’t. I don’t think we could ever do enough. #DoMore
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