Editor’s Note: An extraordinary story of resilience and its rewards.
Military orders, an ice cream sundae with a cherry on top, and club feet. Here is how they came together to alter my life.
As the first female physician trained in my chosen part of the military and as the first female orthopaedic surgeon at a military hospital, I was accustomed to following orders. My career goal was to head one of the four orthopaedic training programs in my branch of the military. I devoted years to preparing for the same. I assisted with pioneering work developing surgeries that could safely be done on patients with a particular hematologic disorder. I also spent years examining and reproducing orthopaedic oncologic pathology slides to provide a needed service but to also assemble a unique teaching file for my planned academic endeavors.
I had good reason to believe that my goal of heading a teaching program would materialize but it didn’t. I then went to see my surgeon general. I will never forget his words “We have never had a woman in charge of an orthopaedic residency program, and we are not going to take the risk now!” My response was to consider slamming my fist down on his desk. Instead, I said “Okay, you won’t let me do what I prepared to do all these years, then give me a job.” He did and sent me off as an executive officer (2nd in command) of the hospital at the largest training base in the country.
Normally, I would have transported my most significant belongings to my new assignment myself. But because it was holiday time, I put everything in temporary storage. On Christmas Night, I received a call that there had been a fire, and all my belongings were destroyed. This included my more than 2000 teaching slides. It was devastating!
Despite my profound loss, my new command proved to be the start of the most satisfying and fulfilling part of my professional career. I’d had little leadership training as that was not my chosen avocation. Because I was supportive of the staff I worked with, they taught me what I needed to know. In fact, they would have “followed me over a cliff” because I was firmly in charge, used my authority in a responsible manner, and I was accountable for the careers of those who worked in our “little city” on the base. I had their backs and they had mine.
My next assignment was to command a hospital in another part of the country. That assignment was followed by yet another hospital command. Shortly before leaving the latter command, a new surgeon general who was also my friend called to say “_________, I have a problem.” By then, I had learned to say, “How may I solve it for you?” I was soon back across the country to an unanticipated third command at a large multi-specialty training hospital.
In my new role, among other responsibilities, I oversaw a large international humanitarian mission. Unfortunately, I couldn’t leave my home base to go on this extended mission. However, a shorter-term deployment at the request of a Pacific Island nation presented itself as an opportunity for which I was eligible. 6-7 children there had a genetic form of club foot and were walking in the jungle on their deformities. They needed someone to “take the feet apart and put them back together.” Clubfeet was what led me to a career in orthopaedic surgery in the first place. Since the 8th grade, I wanted to surgically fix feet so that children could walk straight. I got my chance in the Pacific, and this was “the cherry on top of my ice cream sundae.” By report, at one to two years post-op they were well healed and walking in shoes.
As a commanding officer on all my assignments, my crew was my responsibility. I was charged with teaching them as well as helping them advance. I am proud to say that at least 3 dozen of the people under my command went on to become commanding and executive officers. They weren’t orthopaedic residents, but I was pleased to have had an influence on their career trajectories. They made me proud.
What did these experiences teach me? Professionally, when obstacles or disappointments are encountered, keep on going. Something else is going to happen. Stay tuned to possibilities and you will do well. Sometimes there is not a single path to meeting your goals and living your dreams.