PERSONAL STATEMENT

When I was in third grade, I was stricken with Salmonella food poisoning and was admitted to Medical City of Dallas, Dallas, Tx. The impact of this illness took a toll on my family and me because it went undiagnosed by my pediatrician, and I constantly had terrible stomach pains for 2 weeks and even lost considerable weight. I despised going to the doctor but my hospitalization at Medical City changed my outlook. The doctors in the hospital gave me and my family strength and hope and helped me recover through their compassion, intellect, and attentiveness. Ever since then, I have always wanted to give that compassion back to people in need. In 2006, I traveled to my parents homeland of Pakistan and was fortunate enough to take part in a project that my uncles had started in poverty stricken villages. They established a clinic to provide free immunizations to inhabitants in rural areas. I helped measure patients blood pressure and take their medical histories. Additionally, I was even able to witness one of my uncles, a practicing physician in the United States, provide consultations to various needy patients. I had never really understood until that very moment how much doctors care for their patients. I remember a woman who held her son in her arms and cried tears of gratitude because my uncle had helped them in their time of need. I have been returning with my family every few years to Bangladesh and seen the program grow into a notable and functional clinic where hundreds of patients are seen each day. One of the biggest obstacles I encountered recently and had to overcome as a volunteer at the clinic was witnessing the death of a patient under my uncles care. The patient was an elderly village woman with dementia and was brought into the clinic with onset seizures witnessed by her family members. She had a very kind disposition towards me and often referred to me as her grandson. Over the course of her stay, I developed a special fondness for this elderly lady. Though her body was physically deteriorating, she would have a huge smile on her face every time I went to visit her. It was extremely difficult got me to see her pain and struggle and she eventually passed away. I felt helpless for her loss the days following her death, but in the end I knew that I did my best as a someone who knew little about medicine did as much as they could to help her and provide her with compassion and care.Through my various volunteer activities, I have been exposed to many diseases that presented themselves in different ways, as well as differing methodologies of how to treat them. As a result of my experiences, I feel that Medicine is what I want to do in my life, and that I would make one hell of a doctor.