I Have a New Mentor

The absolute highlight of this trip was a man named Dan Poenaru (in the orange mask in the picture) that Andrea and I were able to meet with a couple of times. He is a pediatric surgeon from Canada who practices at Bethany Kids hospital outside of Nairobi, Kenya. He invited us to come and spend our year or two of research with him at his hospital which would be amazing.

In addition, he just encouraged us and took us seriously as surgeons. He talked about the need to not settle for a husband who doesn't share our desire and calling to go overseas and even prayed for us to that end. He encouraged us to continue growing and find opportunities to get overseas during residency. He wants us to continue emailing regularly and set a deadline for when we will get overseas.

We talked about opportunities for me as a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon and I am convinced that if this is the field I end up in, not only would it be practical overseas, but needed immensely. I would have the opportunity to perform these surgeries while training national surgeons.

I can't wait to see how all of the relationships I have come together to accomplish something beautiful overseas!