As a doctor, patient and mother, I find creating – writing, drawing, painting – to be a healing assertion of humanity in the face of suffering.
My path to becoming a physician was circuitous. After a degree in journalism and a few years working in public education, I decided to study public health and apply to medical school.
While in graduate school, I was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer. Cancer distilled my life, helping to clarify how I wanted to live and grow. It confirmed my calling – to care for others as a doctor.
After medical school in New York, pediatrics training in Boston and several cancer recurrences, I now practice and live with my husband and two children at the foot of the majestic Rocky Mountains.
Creating helps me find peace amidst uncertainty.
Writing, drawing and ceramics (find my work here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GinkgoTreeStudios) are key to my practice as a patient and doctor.
I hope that my stories as a doctor and patient will nurture understanding and trust between those who suffer and those who heal.
I can be found on Twitter @JuliaMDWriter and reached via email at [email protected].
