Prompt: To aid the Admissions Committee in learning more about you, please share your current influences and interest for pursuing a career in medicine
My growth chart at the pediatrician’s office had been indicating my body weight at the 99th percentile for a few years. Gentle admonishing by my concerned doctor had not resulted in the change that he had wished to see during my annual visits. But, it was right after my 15th birthday that his playful demeanor took a serious turn. “Your BMI is 35. Your cholesterol and sugar levels are off the charts, and considering your family’s history of heart disease, you may very well end up dead by 50.” These were his exact words to me; for the first time my parents, who were sitting in the doctor’s examination room with me, saw their overweight child in front of them not as their cherubic boy with a healthy appetite but as one who carried potentially fatal health issues.
As a child, my clothes were always purchased from the “husky” section. No matter where I went, I would be referred to as “big guy” or “champ” by others. No big deal, I thought as I took their words to be affectionate and affirming. To my parents, I was always their “pleasantly plump” and “jolly” child, while I remained oblivious to what the rest of the world saw. It was that annual visit to the doctor when for the first time I realized that my body’s molecular machine was failing, and only I had a role to play in its recovery. Dr. Gensler, my family’s trusted pediatrician, turned to me with a laser-like focus with these words that are forever indelible in my mind: “If there is one thing to remember, it is that you have to fight through this, and change yourself not only for you, but for those around you. You must do this, no matter what, and you can do it.”
My path from my overweight self to who I am today was not just about my body image but was also a crucial catalyst for my curiosity in the transformative power of medicine. Within a short six month-period, I learned from my trusted Forest Hills pediatrician, Dr. Gensler, the various medical testing that was required to set up a plan for me to address the complications that followed my obesity: high LDL-C or “bad cholesterol” and triglyceride levels; carrying risk factors for the early onset of Type 2 diabetes; a sluggish metabolism associated with a fatty liver; an ECG that showed an irregular electrical activity of my heart; and finally, unrelenting pressure on my joints.
Between my doctor, my parents and I, we created a compact, a shared understanding that managing my obesity had to be a collective effort. This medical intervention also needed the help of a therapist with whom I could talk about my fears and emotional state as I confronted my reality. It was this two-pronged medical approach that conveyed the complex relationship between mind and body, and the necessity of addressing them both separately, but in concert.
As my doctors treated me, I conducted my own research on foods high and low on the glycemic index. This knowledge was the cornerstone of my own understanding of how to build a healthy lifestyle. A shift from my previous diet of sugary foods and simple carbohydrates now included complex carbohydrates, mono- and polyunsaturated fats in moderation, more fruits and vegetables, and an avoidance of products with high-fructose corn syrup that is ubiquitous in most packaged grocery store products.
Complementing my new diet, I discovered the miracle of exercise with the zeal of a new convert! At my local Y, I swam and channeled my inner Michael Phelps at 6 am before school started, rain or shine. I picked out an easy jogging path in the gentle hills of my neighborhood, and afterwards volunteered myself at pick-up games at my local basketball court. I understood first-hand how regular exercise at medium to high-intensity levels could have positive impacts via aerobic metabolism: it improved my insulin sensitivity, brought glycemic control, decreased blood pressure and vastly improve my LDL and triglyceride levels, not to mention the beginnings of more muscle definition on my body and brought self-confidence in all my endeavors. It was a long journey, but one that I accomplished with fierce determination.
My story mirrors the experience of more than 36 percent of American adults aged 20 and older and 17 percent of children and adolescents aged 2-19, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). My experience brought an intimate understanding of the role that doctors and medical research play in public health. While I am grateful for the medical intervention that I received, I was well-aware that not everyone has access to quality and affordable care. I was embedded in an ecosystem that comprised of regular visits to a medical professional, a regimen of exercise, my compliance to the treatment plan, and the creation of a new and sustainable healthy lifestyle. Undergirding these efforts was an implicit knowledge that only the field of medicine could bring about this magnitude of change. I am committed to giving back to the communities that I will serve with the same compassion and humanity that was shown to me. These are the core aspects of medicine that drew me in, and will continue to be my charge as I pursue my career.
This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
