The moment we made it

What gets me through the hard moments is envisioning the future when I finally feel closer to my dreams. It keeps me above water on those days that feel endless. Medicine is hard. There is no two ways to say that. It’s endless studying to finally make it, and then, endless working. You also witness suffering, heartbreak, minds lost and it takes a toll on your well-being as well.

But that smile on a father’s face, when he first holds his newborn or the tears of relief on a daughter’s face when her mother wakes up after surgery – that joy is unparalleled. It makes up for all the hardships and strife, and imbues you with a sense of sheer satisfaction. Those are the moments I feel like I belong, and I am exactly where I am meant to be.

Through central lines and fecal impactions,
Donning masks till faces ashen,
Through mangled bodies and fetid odours,
Losing battles to faulty trocars,
Parsing through books till our hair is Gray,
Watching sharp minds slowly decay,
Through antibodies and genetic markers,
Grim nights and days even darker
Through joy and tears, strengths and fears,
Crossing our fingers just to make it here,

We survived,
On sheer grit,
We made it.
We finally made it.