Dr. Ana Santos recognizes the work of all mothers, especially those who support their medical children or medical students.
Dr. Ana Santos, general surgeon with a specialty in bariatric surgery. Photo: Provided by Dr. Santos to the Journal of Medicine and Public Health.
The Ana Santos Dr., general surgeon specializing in bariatric surgeryremembers with much love the times that her mother provided her with company in her childhood, because, following school, Santos had singing, guitar and art classes and her mother always took her to all the classes with a tireless smile and full of love.
Now that Ana is a mother, she notes that the life of a mother is full of challenges, in which time must be played with, and she values the effort that her mother made for her.
Since she was a child, she liked science, especially biology and anatomy, although she was inclined towards the arts, singing and playing instruments. In her family there was no doctor, so, with the passing of time, she started thinking regarding psychiatry and later, when she entered the operating room for the first time, as a medical student, she was impressed by that way of also making art, so there was no turning back: he discovered his vocation for surgery.
Ana Santos has an interest in serving and helping others, helping them improve their quality of life. In search of “where it might be useful”, and following making her career as a surgeon in the United States, she realized that bariatric surgery was not offered in Puerto Rico and she felt very excited to bring this novelty to Puerto Rican patients without them they needed to travel to the United States.
Since she was little, the girl Ana Santos was the one who stayed giving company and care to her grandparents and other relatives when they fell ill. Taking care of others was always important in her life.
His sacrifice and focus was what allowed him to obtain his medical degree, coupled with the family support he received. He remembers that her mother had this illusion that she would be a doctor and gave her a stuffed animal dressed as a surgeon, an object full of love that Dr. Santos still keeps.
Santos delayed having a daughter, due to the effort involved in studying medicine, but now she has a 7-year-old girl, who even accompanies her to the hospital on weekends. When Dr. Ana returns home at night, her daughter is the first to ask her how her work has gone and how many patients she has operated on, following the little girl answers how her day at school has been .
One of the most beautiful experiences between mother and daughter is that the little girl also feels the same concern that Ana Santos feels for others, the girl remembers which patients her mother attends to and asks her every day how their health has been or if you have discharged them.
This is how Dr. Santos combines her professional life with her family life. Little Ana already says that she will be a future surgeon.
Memoirs of his academic and professional career
When Ana decided to study medicine, her mother was very excited and even cooked for her and her fellow students.
Ana Santos studied in Chicago and when she returned to Puerto Rico, on her first shift, she felt shocked by the case of a young woman who felt severe pain and they were able to help her. She remembers that it was a Thursday.
She also remembers that there was a patient who had been hospitalized for a long time and she went to see her with her 7-year-old daughter. The little girl, who loves to talk with everyone, sat down to talk with the patient, drew a picture for her and made her feel better, something that makes her feel proud of her daughter. Today they both play with the dolls and her daughter imagines that she cures them.
There is not a particular patient that impacts her, but in general, all her patients with morbid obesity; Well, being able to help them do simple things is pleasant. For example, a patient might sit on the floor and play with her son, the lady who had never been able to get on a plane because she did not fit in the chair and managed to do so, or the woman who was able to buy pants for the first time because she found your size. They are all experiences of hers that fill her with satisfaction.
Morbid obesity generally has a genetic component, so Dr. Ana has operated on several family members. Once she operated first on her mother and then on her daughter, both were filled with joy at the changes that were appearing in their lives.
The call to medical students is that this field should not be entered thinking of becoming a millionaire, but of offering Christian service.
To the mothers of doctors or medical students, Ana Santos thanks them for their sacrifices, since they do a commendable job for the community where they live and for society. She wishes she had spent important dates with her mother, like her birthdays, but it was not always possible due to the obligations in the operating room. For this reason, she thanks all the mothers who have so much patience with their children who are doctors or students of this career.
Finally, Dr. Santos tells her mother: “Dear mother, you know that I love you, you are already 80 years old, although you think you are 60, thank you for being with me every day of my life.”
