Never too old for friendship bracelets! :)
“I swear by Apollo the physician, AEsculapius, and Health, and All-heal, and all the gods and goddesses, that, according to my ability and judgement, I will keep this Oath and this stipulation.”
[Hippocratic Oath, ~460-470 B.C.]
[Hippocratic Oath, ~460-470 B.C.]
This past weekend I was able to attend a close friend’s white coat ceremony that marks the beginning of his medical school career! The following is a message to him. In it I write a little about the medical profession which has always had a soft spot in my heart!! So to all those in the medical profession this is in a way my letter to you as well!
KhangaRoooOOOoo! :)
Khang!!!
You cannot imagine how happy we were to share in your white coat celebration this past weekend!! For us it brought the reality of you one day becoming a doctor that much closer! It was a feeling of great joy to envision you in such a noble service to life!
Thinking back to my own experiences within the hospital I remember being in such awe when I’d encounter a doctor who truly emitted the heart of their vocation. It would be something moving because you truly felt as though their calling was not only bringing fulfillment in their own lives, but that they were able to change the lives of their patients. One example of this was when we had a little boy in the oncology ward that was going downhill very quickly. We were all so worried because it was so evident that he was losing the fight. Weeks into his treatment, when he was at his lowest, the primary doctor on the floor came into the boy’s hospital room with his head completely shaved for the little boy who had recently lost all of his hair. You should have seen the little boy’s face!! He became so full of life again. From that point on the little boy gained the strength that he needed and he not only overcame the cancer but completely conquered it in a truly miraculous way. :)
It was so apparent that the doctor had given a very special gift to the little boy. He demonstrated that as a doctor one needs to instill a love of life for one’s patients where he or she is unceasingly driving their patients to struggle for their life from that inner determination which is often so essential in their recovery. This is in part what has always drawn me to the medical arena of society. You encounter the face of humanity in such an intimate way. As you’ll come to discover, in the hospital you face the basic realities of life: birth, growth, sickness, suffering and often death. This little experience with the boy in the oncology ward revealed to me that because the medical profession encompasses those mysterious and beautiful dimensions of the human person- doctors truly need to care not only for the body, but for those irreducible dimensions of the human person: their dignity and belovedness.
Khang, you have always given yourself in such a selfless way and recognizing these two dimensions in people is perhaps one of your greatest gifts. Your profession as a doctor will therefore be such a seamless transition of who you have always been to others. I couldn’t think of a more fitting path which fuses your gifts, talents, and the compassionate heart of Christ which you so evidently reflect.
It was so moving to listen to you speak about your recent medical mission to Vietnam. Those will be memories which you can employ during these coming years of medical school. It is that genuine human contact in the heart of your memories with the people of Vietnam which will uplift and really sanctify all of the technical training that you will receive from your professors and peers.
As we heard this weekend at your ceremony, the Hippocratic Oath states that: “with purity and with holiness I will pass my life and practice my Art.” It is moving to think that millions of doctors have so nobly become an extension of this oath since its original utterance. While it remains a reminder of our ancient roots, the values of life which it continues to promote hold an enduring significance in our society. It is this professional conscience that calls for self-sacrifice which, when integrated into a body of education, presents to our society something magnificent and inspiring which truly builds the kingdom of God’s love.
How beautiful that you have been chosen to partake in something so special Khang! Remember that we are always here for you!! We’re all looking forward to the next ceremony in 2015!! :)
May peace always be with you,
Teresa :)
You cannot imagine how happy we were to share in your white coat celebration this past weekend!! For us it brought the reality of you one day becoming a doctor that much closer! It was a feeling of great joy to envision you in such a noble service to life!
Thinking back to my own experiences within the hospital I remember being in such awe when I’d encounter a doctor who truly emitted the heart of their vocation. It would be something moving because you truly felt as though their calling was not only bringing fulfillment in their own lives, but that they were able to change the lives of their patients. One example of this was when we had a little boy in the oncology ward that was going downhill very quickly. We were all so worried because it was so evident that he was losing the fight. Weeks into his treatment, when he was at his lowest, the primary doctor on the floor came into the boy’s hospital room with his head completely shaved for the little boy who had recently lost all of his hair. You should have seen the little boy’s face!! He became so full of life again. From that point on the little boy gained the strength that he needed and he not only overcame the cancer but completely conquered it in a truly miraculous way. :)
It was so apparent that the doctor had given a very special gift to the little boy. He demonstrated that as a doctor one needs to instill a love of life for one’s patients where he or she is unceasingly driving their patients to struggle for their life from that inner determination which is often so essential in their recovery. This is in part what has always drawn me to the medical arena of society. You encounter the face of humanity in such an intimate way. As you’ll come to discover, in the hospital you face the basic realities of life: birth, growth, sickness, suffering and often death. This little experience with the boy in the oncology ward revealed to me that because the medical profession encompasses those mysterious and beautiful dimensions of the human person- doctors truly need to care not only for the body, but for those irreducible dimensions of the human person: their dignity and belovedness.
Khang, you have always given yourself in such a selfless way and recognizing these two dimensions in people is perhaps one of your greatest gifts. Your profession as a doctor will therefore be such a seamless transition of who you have always been to others. I couldn’t think of a more fitting path which fuses your gifts, talents, and the compassionate heart of Christ which you so evidently reflect.
It was so moving to listen to you speak about your recent medical mission to Vietnam. Those will be memories which you can employ during these coming years of medical school. It is that genuine human contact in the heart of your memories with the people of Vietnam which will uplift and really sanctify all of the technical training that you will receive from your professors and peers.
As we heard this weekend at your ceremony, the Hippocratic Oath states that: “with purity and with holiness I will pass my life and practice my Art.” It is moving to think that millions of doctors have so nobly become an extension of this oath since its original utterance. While it remains a reminder of our ancient roots, the values of life which it continues to promote hold an enduring significance in our society. It is this professional conscience that calls for self-sacrifice which, when integrated into a body of education, presents to our society something magnificent and inspiring which truly builds the kingdom of God’s love.
How beautiful that you have been chosen to partake in something so special Khang! Remember that we are always here for you!! We’re all looking forward to the next ceremony in 2015!! :)
May peace always be with you,
Teresa :)
Vietnam Missions photos via Khang Tran!!
“Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight,
and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend your sick ones, O Lord Christ. Rest your weary ones.
Bless your dying ones.
Soothe your suffering ones.
Pity your afflicted ones.
Shield your joyous ones.
And for all your love's sake. Amen.” [Saint Augustine]
and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend your sick ones, O Lord Christ. Rest your weary ones.
Bless your dying ones.
Soothe your suffering ones.
Pity your afflicted ones.
Shield your joyous ones.
And for all your love's sake. Amen.” [Saint Augustine]
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