About the Book

He tells the story of a young boy who loses his father at the age of 9. He wanted to study medicine, but his uncle was against it because medicine was a long and difficult profession. He managed to succeed and entered medical school, graduating with honors. Those were years of intense socio-political turmoil, almost twice losing his life.

He recalls his experiences as a teenager, college student, and as an intern and resident. Times were then different. How things have changed since in the medical field. His first encounter with death was an unforgettable experience. Despite his desperate therapeutic measures he couldn't save his patient's life.He understood what the 'raison d'etre' was: To conquer it. Death was almost everywhere. Each day someone died. He seemed to become acquainted with and he no longer feared it. He came to accept it, not as a tragedy, but rather as one of life's unavoidable facts.

He describes the emotions of his first operation, the thrill of feeling like a real surgeon under the scrutinizing look of the astonished anesthesiologist and the skepticisim and worries of the Reverend Mother OR nurse supervisor. The former surprised at his courage, the latter concerned about the fetus. He not only performed his operation with success, but also his first and last baptism.

Disillusioned, he abandoned his country to face new challenges and difficulties in America. He wasn't sure if the price paid to study medicine justified all his efforts. The book is an example of the tenacity and dedication of a foreign physician pursuing an uncertain future. A formidable lesson for a new generation of medical students.

About the Author: The author was born in Ayapel, Colombia in 1933. Graduated from Javeriana Medical School in 1958. Completed a postgraduate course in cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania in 1960 and his Cardiology fellowship at Hahenemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, from 1961 to 1963. He was assistant chief of Cardiology at the Allentown Hospital, and is a staff cardiologist at Sacred Heart and Leigh Valley hospitals. He is a member of the A.M.A, the American Heart Association and a fellow of the Inter- American College of Physicians. He resides in Allentown with his wife Agnes, where he has an active independent cardiology practice for almost 36 years. He wanted to write this memoir, to tell the new generation of medical students how hard and difficult studying medicine was, and to remind them how fortunate they are, to be able to study it in an era of impressive hospitals, powerful drugs, and excellent libraries with internet access. But most of all, to appreciate what Medicine is all about: "An honorable and fascinating profession."