A Letter From a Friend

Today I received such a sweet note from Gina my friend from USC that I had to post it. We have been in the nurse anesthesia program now for about a year and a half together and in the last couple of months have not seen much of each other. All of the students are scattered about doing specialty clinical rotations currently and only get together for Journal club once a month.

At one point last year Gina and I were together at Arrowhead Regional Medical center and we became quite close.

Here is her note:

David,

Got your message today and sorry I missed your call. I’m just now trying to get my Medatrax caught up for the week. Wondering how you’re doing these days. It is strange not seeing one another every week, but that is progress, isn’t it? We’re very close to the finish line, or so it seems. How are things going in OB? Any problems getting your numbers? Dr. Gold seems to think that is a concern there. I was looking over the schedule to see where you are and it appears as though you have a nice few months ahead of you. Of course that last month at LAC is going to kill you. You know what I say; better you than me!!

Children’s is worlds better than I had imagined. It is clean and efficient, much like Arrowhead, which you will like. The attendings are for the most part, into teaching. The morning conferences and Grand Rounds are a nice review. The hours are not as long as I thought. The anesthesia is simple and it is not a rotation I would recommend trying to get too fancy with. Of course my objectives for the rotation are very simple; 1) don’t kill anyone and; 2) get to the point where I am reasonably comfortable when a baby or child shows up in my OR. And to that end, I think I’m getting there. It’s good and important experience. Of course the bad side is that you are dealing with kids who have really horrible diseases, who endure pain daily, who are scared when you take them away from mommy, and who wake up crying. The parents are weary and desperate. My heart is broken daily. I hug my son a bit tighter these days when I get home.

Tell me how you are doing and where your thoughts are these days. Any thoughts about where to work when all this craziness is done?

I look forward to seeing you Monday, my dear friend. Be well.

Gina

So there you have it! Gina would probably laugh out loud if she knew that I posted her letter she is such a stickler for details. One thing is abundantly clear – she is a great soul. I did reply to her mail and include it here for historical purposes.

Gina,

Thank you for the great update. You are a great soul and appreciated very much. Your wisdom comes through everything you say. Its like the old saying about the trees and the forest except that no matter what you do I see the forest of wisdom in who you are. Maybe I am just an old philosophical fool but it makes sense to me anyway.

For the latest on me you can always check out my revised web site the “Average Man” at the new URL http://averageman.org/

You may get a kick out of this site actually. Many have asked me why I chose the moniker of the Average Man. When I try to answer the question the topic of the “Ordinary” man always comes up when I am thinking of “Exceptional” man – used in the universal sense. When they are thinking of “Ordinary” I am thinking of the potential that is in every one of us just waiting to be exposed. Most people don’t get it but those that do are the ones I speak to. As an example, I did a search in Google for an “Average Man” and came up with a site for Gandhi in which I found this:

Mahatma Gandhi was an average man – at least, that is how he regarded himself. He laid no claim to be either a saint or a mahatma. He declared with humility:

“I claim to be no more than an average man with less than average ability. Nor can I claim any special merit for such non-violence or continence as I have been able to reach with laborious research. I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have, if he or she would make the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith. Work without faith is like an attempt to reach the bottom of a bottomless pit.”

These words were not the expression of a pretentious modesty. They reflected Gandhi’s fundamental conviction that each one of us can achieve that which he had achieved – and more. For Gandhi, life was a permanent experiment with truth. He walked his talk – and where his walk did not coincide with his talk, he changed either his walk or his talk.

“I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough in me to confess my errors and to retrace my steps. I own that I have an immovable faith in God and His goodness and unconsumable passion for truth and love. But, is that not what every person has latent in him?”

So Gina dear friend maybe you will be able to understand what it is to be an Average Man and know who I am. Most likely due to the fact that you certainly have touched the center of your own latent potential. Certainly I claim no greatness just the average goodness that is in us all.

Your friend David.

Categories : Anesthesia