Some patients help to define a physicians' career. One of mine was named Vicky. I met her straight out of training. She came to me needing a tube to drain her kidney because her bladder was blocked by a uterine tumor. The cancer had spread throughout her body.

I rushed into the hospital at 2 am on a Saturday morning because she was at risk of going into kidney failure. When the stretcher rolled into my procedure suite, to my surprise, here was the most jovial patient sitting up laughing and joking with everybody. I introduced myself.

I told her how sorry I was for what she was going through. She smiled and said "don't worry about me, doc. I'm gonna be just fine!". I remember thinking to myself "no you're not. I'm gonna put this tube in your kidney, and you probably won't live long enough to need it changed".

Fast forward 17 years... I have been changing Vicky's kidney tube like clockwork every three months since that early Saturday morning. I look forward to seeing her each time and she gives me the best hugs! She even brings milkshakes for the entire crew every visit.

I'm thankful that I ran into Vicky so early in my career. She taught me that after 13 years of higher education, I really didn't know shit! She taught me that there is nothing stronger than the human spirit. I love you Vicky! And I'll take a vanilla milkshake next time.