Almighty Bean

I don’t know if a lot of daughters still have good relationships with their dads.  I know a lot of adults are telling the world how awful my generation has become, and how much we have grown apart from our parents.  I know for a fact that I grew up most of the time “yaya-guided” by my beloved “Ate Its” (yaya means nanny in Tagalog).  My dad worked day and night as a surgeon.  I would wake up in the morning and he’d still be asleep.  When I return from school he’d still be in the OR (operating room).  By the time he’s back I’d be asleep.  It never was an issue to me, because I knew he was just doing his job to earn money so that me and my 2 older siblings would stay in school.  Now that I have decided to follow his path, I couldn’t praise him more.  Most people would think that I have full advantage having a surgeon for a dad.  It’s partly true.  I started watching his operations when I entered 3rd year med school.  Just watched from the back, not assisting.  I started assisting during my clerkship, just last year.  He didn’t treat me like a family member but a real surgeon in training, and I thank him for that.  Now that I’m an intern, I assist him every time I go home.  The pic above this article is just one of our operations together (my dad is the one at the left).  He’d give out a snappy comments like:

“Your job is to make things easy for me, the head surgeon, not to make things worse.”

Then after the amazingly short OR, he’d treat all of us to dinner, like nothing happened.  He has taught me a lot, not just through his words but through his actions.  He lets me go with him as he makes rounds.  I smile at the fact that he sits beside the bed of his patient and holds his or her hand.   He explains  their diagnosis as simply as possible.

Whenever I feel that my mind is already so poisoned by the goings-on at my hospital, I just look at him and I’m reminded that there are still good doctors out there.

Like what one of my teachers said when I was still in med school,

“Never let reality dilute your values “.

I told my dad, “I wish I can be just as good a surgeon like you.”

His reply was simple, “I wish you would be a BETTER surgeon than me.”

Love you Papa! ^_^