My husband, Evan, started his second year of medical school today. As we were talking about how relaxed he was heading into his second year, I started to reflect on this past year and what I have learned.
We started Evan’s journey into medical school knowing we had a long 4-year road ahead of us. The program does not allow my husband to have a lot of time to be with me or to help around the house, leaving most of the day to day work as my responsibility. There are many days where it is difficult for me to keep up with everything, but my husband has never once complained. He has met me with patience and love, knowing I am doing my best to keep up with everything going on; and while keeping up with all my responsibilities is daunting at times, it is nothing compared to what I see my husband go through.
My husband works ’round the clock, 7 days a week. When he is not at school or in the lab, he is studying. Every day is a new battle for him. He faces two hard exams every Monday and Friday, with labs and practicals in between. The material is extensive and time-consuming, but even through his hardest weeks of studying I can hear his excitement for what he is doing; Learning a new skill, investigating a new research technique, getting to work in the labs. He loves his career, and that makes every struggle we have come across this year worth it.
One of the hardest parts of medical school is trying to explain to anyone outside of the medical field how much time and effort we put into this- How much money we are investing, how we truly can’t go to every family or social event we’re invited to, etc. We make sacrifices, more than we want to. But that is the beauty of doctors that many overlook. They dedicate years of their lives to studying and perfecting their craft, taking on thousands of dollars of debt, and sacrificing many things in their personal life to take care of your family members and friends.
So today, I want to take a moment to thank all the medical professionals out there because when you have sacrificed over 8 years of your life in school, 3-4 years of residency, and years of specialty to be able to serve the community to the best of your ability you are a true hero. The next time you see any sort of Doctor or medical professional, take a moment and thank them for all they do!
