First of all, making a living caring for children makes me feel tremendously fortunate. I considered other careers but chose medicine in part for the opportunity to serve as well as excel at something and practice lifelong learning. While the responsibility is great (and you never forget the times when you failed), the opportunity to improve a child’s quality of life is worth it. One of my favorite parts of being a pediatric spine surgeon is when a former patient returns to shadow me for a few days or get a recommendation for medical school: that’s where I feel that my work will have lasting positive effects, paying it forward to the children that those doctors will care for. That’s particularly true when it’s a young woman, who believes that she can achieve anything, in some small part because she saw me in this role. These smart, capable and caring young women and men make me feel really optimistic about the future.
My other personal passion is horses, since I could first say the word! I’ve always made time to keep riding and competing in show jumping, and it’s still a big part of my life. I ride in competitions at a 1.30-1.45m level as often as I can manage it. When I was younger I sometimes wished that I had more time to dedicate to riding, but really I feel fortunate to have a lifelong sport I love to pursue. Working with horses teaches patience, perseverance, cooperation and humility. They can’t talk but are great communicators if we can learn their language. I won’t be able to compete at a high level forever, but horses will always be part of my life.
