“My pending exodus from academic medicine after 15 years…” This is how I started my piece recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. I wrote my thoughts on what academia needs to do to right the wrongs that centuries of racism and anti-Blackness have created, but not on the experience that served as my final straw. A story in the news since then makes me want to share it now…
speaking up in the time of rona***
I spoke too soon.
Recently I posted on Twitter and FaceBook about feeling like I had found a non-confrontational way to appeal to folks to comply with wearing masks when we couldn’t be at least 6 feet apart. While a couple of people did kindly cover their mouth and nose with their t-shirt, there were at least a dozen more who just ignored me or rolled their eyes. I call these people selfish assholes.
15 years and counting!
Today marks Robert’s and my 15th anniversary for kidney transplant surgery. We continue to share two healthy kidneys between us.
Over the years, I’ve been called “selfless,” and even a “hero” for donating my kidney. While I understand that giving away a part of one’s body while alive seems unimaginable to many, each time my response has been an unwillingness to accept that what I did was “selfless” and definitely not heroic. Yes, I did welcome a certain amount of risk to improve someone’s life, but I got a lot in return: The joy of knowing I helped the love of my life be in his best possible health for 15 years and counting.