Paging PIH

It was not my intent to be blogging again tonight! I intended on reading and studying my new books that I checked out from the local library and going in depth into the terminology before going for a run and cleaning house. But... after an hour I ended up on the Partners In Health webpage, clicking through the pages of the great work that they are doing. At least it is a better distraction than facebook!

(Check them out at www.pih.org or www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti ... and feel free to donate to them, they need it!)

I found out about PIH when my step-mom gifted me with Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder when I was a junior in high school. I didn't bother reading it until after my freshman year of college when I was bored, cold, and alone in my bedroom on a rainy day. I finished it within three hours, after dog-earing pages with medical terms I did not understand, highlighting quotes I loved, and feeling fully inspired to pursue the career in the medical field that I did not even know that I desired until picking up that book.

I have never had a hero before. Dr. Paul Farmer and the other co-founders of Partners In Health along with the team of medical personnel that they work with are all my heroes. I have never met them (although I would be more than excited to have the chance to sit and talk with them about their work) but their story is extremely inspiring to me.

I want to be a doctor that does what they do. I want to provide medical care to those with few options and have the guts to actually care about my patients instead of just their treatments. People in the medical field tell me all the time that I am just naive, that after awhile of working in the medical field I will lose my naiviety and be just as frigid as everyone else, but I do not see that happening. I don't want that to ever happen, because that would mean that I would not care about the true well being about patients anymore! I want to care about patients as people, not just as illnesses. Why do I want to do that? Because I would love a doctor to do that for me too!

Another reason why Dr. Farmer's story is such an inspiration to me is because he seems to be so fascinated by the world in the book. He spent time learning Hatian Creole and about the people, enjoyed nice meals with Tracy Kidder, ended up marrying, and yet still returns to Haiti to help. If I have an ounce of the dedication that he possesses, I will be able to eventually return to school and get my degree as well.

I get really excited when I get to learn a new thing about the body, or have something to look up, or am presented with an opportunity to learn about medicine or healthcare in general (and psychology too). I love that I have the opportunity to utilize my local library to get books to read on the subject before I am able to afford to go back to school so that when I do get to return to complete my education, I will have the knowledge stored up and the classes will be easier for me to pass! (And I will be able to focus on learning different languages, since that seems to be my most ominous challenge... that and organic chemistry!)

Anyway, please, if you have never heard of Partners in Health, please please I am begging you to check them out. Or at least take the time to read Mountains Beyond Mountains. It's not just for people who are interested in anything medical... it's a story about humanity, and about a man who is the living picture of what sacrifice and fighting for what you believe in looks like.