When I had originally planned to write this post it was going to be about the sacrifice our children have experienced with the schedule of their daddy but after I got half way through I decided instead I would write about the sacrifice of my husband. People often don't consider the sacrifice physicians make on a personal level. Most people don't know the many hours that are spent not in the hospital or clinical setting but at home researching, reading or planning. I am sure by now, if you've read previous posts, you have an idea of the hours that my husband puts in the hospital operating and in clinic seeing patients but there are countless hours and nights when he gets home at 8p.m. or later only to eat and grab his text book or computer to start his "home" work. He spends his nights reading and doing research for the various research projects that he is doing and also for his cases for the next day. He also has to prepare for his weekly conference he has and other various presentations he must make.
To understand his commitment and work ethic I think it's important to go back in time. If you ask him if he always wanted to be a physician he will tell you that in fact he didn't decide until the day his application to medical school was due. At the time he was 18 years old. Yes, he graduated with his undergraduate degree when he was 18. At the tender age of 15 he had graduated high school. And he completed medical school and started Family Medicine residency at the age of 22. Those early years when a lot of us were still figuring life out he was deep into medical text books and clinical hours. My husband is very driven, and very motivated to be the best surgeon he can possibly be. In order for him to do that the time must be spent reading, researching and working.
Whenever a special day comes for present buying there are many of us that struggle with what to get him. He doesn't have much time to enjoy things like hobbies or a good fiction novel. He would love to be able to spend more time doing things like fishing, camping or traveling but the very small amount of non-doctoring time that he is afforded is spent with the kids. The sacrifice at times can be hard. There have been many things and events he/we have missed due to his work and the amount of time he spends preparing for work. There have been times when we have planned for family time out of the city on one of his weekends off only to have him get called and asked to come back for an emergency case. And so even at six in the morning on a Sunday we quickly pack our stuff back up, load the kids in the car and make the trip back. It makes it all worth it though for him to have the ability to save someone's life. And so the sacrifices are made, the time is invested and his skills become more perfected.
* I feel like it is very important to thank his parents and siblings for the sacrifices they made and the support they have given him and us. Also his extended family for the support they gave him over the years. And a big thank you to both of our families and our friends for the support, patience and understanding when we were are unable to attend functions and events due to his schedule and work hours.
