"I love my job!"
Rather I should say, "I love my jobs."
I am a Social Worker at Memorial
Hermann Hospital,
working with
families in the Neuro Trauma Intensive Care Unit (NTICU). I also work as a motivational speaker and lecturer, as well as writing inspirational stories for publication in books and on the Internet. I enjoy and love everything I do.
If someone would have told me over 20 years ago that I would have made that statement, I would have laughed. I thought, and knew, that I was going to be an Orthopedic Surgeon. I was making high grades in college at the University
of Texas. However, I was
at the wrong place at the wrong time in February of 1981.
I was studying with my girlfriend, Sharon, for an Organic Chemistry
exam that I was supposed to take the following evening. However, Sharon stated that it was getting quite late and she had to go back to her dormitory.
Being a gentleman, I offered to take her home and we headed for her dormitory
in my car. However, being a "college male", I had no gas in my tank
nor any money in my pocket, so I borrowed two dollars from Sharon and pulled into a nearby convenience store.
"I'll be back in a second," I yelled at Sharon as I entered the convenience store to pay for the gas. Unfortunately, the store was in the midst of a
robbery. One of the three thieves forced me into the cooler, where he
followed me, pushed me down, and shot me in the back of the head--execution-style. He thought I was
dead, otherwise he would have shot me again and again. However, I was not dead. I was
barely hanging onto life.
I was rushed to the hospital by ambulance where very few of the medical staff thought I would be alive in the morning. However, they failed to take into
consideration my spirit, my background, my support system and my faith.
It was not easy. However, obviously, I survived. True, I still have some
disabilities and limitations, but I am alive. After a lengthy rehabilitation, I returned to
college where I graduated at the top of my class four years after my return to classes.
Following that, I enrolled in Graduate School at the University of Houston
where I received a Masters Degree in Social Work.
One night at the Memorial Hermann Hospital where I was working, I was leading a support group for families who had loved ones in the NTICU. Their loved ones had suffered brain or spinal injuries such as strokes, aneurysms, brain tumors or injuries, or broken necks.
That night I was telling the group "my story" and a "recipe for recovery." I shared my formula for recovery with those in attendance and told them that it consisted of 4 ingredients:
1. Positive attitude,
2. Good support system,
3. Belief in yourself,
4. Belief in a higher being.
Throughout my talk, I related an anecdote with each of my "ingredients."
After my lecture, I asked for comments or questions. I'll never forget one of the comments that was made by the husband of a patient suffering from a brain aneurysm.
He stated that his wife had suffered an aneurysm and, "thank God, was doing much better after surgery by Dr. Kim." (Dr. Kim is an eminent neurosurgeon who specializes in aneurysms.)
The husband went on to say that he too had a recipe for recovery that consisted of 4 ingredients. He stated that his ingredients were slightly different from mine.
His 4 ingredients were:
1. The Father,
2. The Son,
3. The Holy Ghost, & ...
4. Dr. Kim
People laughed; however, I believe that the man was very sincere. He truly expressed HIS recipe for recovery. (The husband was obviously Christian); however, I believe that no matter what one's religious preference is, a belief in a higher being is vital. In times of crises or stress no matter whether one is Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim or any other religion, a belief in a higher being is crucial. We are ALL God's children. I believe that God created ALL people, (including Dr. Kim).
In so doing, I feel that God "uses" human beings to do his work.
For that family, and many, many more, "thank God for Dr. Kim" (who always has plenty of divine help from "above").
