Purpose Upon Opportunity

Pablo Barreras Galindo, MS2

It was a humid, foggy morning. You could hear the coquíes singing as the first rays of light entered the room passing through the shades. Mateo struggled to get out of bed, poured his cup of coffee, and had a nice breakfast. That morning Mateo could sense that something was going to change the way he looked and perceived life. Yet, not knowing what exactly was making the day so special, he carried on with his plans and waited for the day to unfold.

As part of his pre-med studies, Mateo was participating in a series of different shadowing sessions. To his surprise, he was assigned a session with a heart surgeon that day. Since it was his first time in the operating room, he was very excited and could not contain himself. Mateo’s parents dropped him off at the hospital at around 8 in the morning. Already at the hospital, Mateo met the heart surgeon with whom he would be shadowing that day, Dr. Joglar. The doctor gave Mateo the impression that he was going to remember this day for the rest of his life. Full of enthusiasm Mateo followed Dr. Joglar to the 3rd floor, where the operating room was found. At the entrance of the 3rd floor, there was a whiteboard with all the procedures Dr. Joglar would be performing that day. The day started off with a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery. Before entering the operating room, Dr. Joglar warned Mateo that this was going to be a gruesome surgery because it was an open-heart surgery. Mateo didn’t doubt it and reinstated his desire to enter the operating room. Before entering, the doctor taught Mateo how to scrub himself for the surgical procedure then, the surgery started. Everything was new to Mateo, the peculiar smell, the sounds of the different monitors, the blood all over the place, the work environment, everything. Mateo felt a little anxious at the beginning of the procedure and started sweating out of nervousness. Dr. Joglar noticed this and made sure that Mateo was feeling better before continuing with the procedure. Five minutes passed, and Mateo was back like nothing had ever happened.

Mateo was amazed by the work of the doctor. Two hours into the procedure, Dr. Joglar asked Mateo if he wanted to touch the beating heart. At first, Mateo was a bit skeptical, but then he realized that opportunities like this do not occur every day and that this would be an amazing experience to have with him towards the future. Mateo answered, “Yes, I want to touch the beating heart.”. Dr. Joglar went on and raised the heart a little bit, just enough to create space for Mateo’s hand. Mateo inserted his hand in the little space underneath the heart, and Dr. Joglar laid down the heart in his hand. The heart was pumping on Mateo’s hand. His face said it all. Mateo said, “It’s so warm and full of energy.” to which Dr. Joglar replied with a simple “¡Vida! That’s Life!” and a smile on his face. At that precise moment, Mateo knew he had found his purpose in life, which was to give more life through the power of healing. He felt inspired to continue pursuing his dreams even though he knew it would not be easy. Later that day, Mateo was so grateful for taking the opportunity presented to him, “Truly a life-changing opportunity.” Mateo said.

About the Author:

I am a second-year medical student at San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Caguas, Puerto Rico. I am also a proud Puerto Rican who is committed to improving the development of the health system in Puerto Rico.

About the Work:

Purpose upon opportunity is about a pre-med student who takes advantage of an opportunity presented to him which ends up changing the way he feels about life and helps him discover his real purpose.