Officially a 5th Year Plastic Surgeon (In Training)!!!!

Officially a 5th year Plastic Surgery Resident!!!!

Ah, the happiness I feel when I log in to type up a blog post is unmatched! In trying to keep up with social media and what people want to see, I think I somehow forgot that the whole point of documenting my journey is so that I can have something to look back on to make ME happy. So with that being said, I'm glad to be back on this platform, and this post will pretty much be a recap on how the first half of this year has went for me. 

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JANUARY

I always consider January to be the best month because it's my birthday month, but this year it came with a little extra flair as I took on the role of becoming a (short-lived) professional model for Hypothesis Scrubs. So to give a little backstory, a production company reached out to me last September to do a major campaign for NYC healthcare professionals. As I am Miami-based, I politely declined, but told them to please let me know if anything arose in my area. Imagine my surprise when they reached out again in late December for a campaign in Miami! I scheduled my Zoom meeting with the company for early January, and I remember the interview vividly because even though I had scheduled it for late that evening, I was still in the middle of operating when it came close to my interview time. Luckily, I have an amazing attending who let me scrub out to take the meeting. It was quick and I wasn't sure if I would be picked, but about 2 weeks later I received the message that I was in and was given shoot dates for the end of the month. Of course, I had to ask permission to leave work for one day of filming, but considering that my residency pay is extremely low and this would pay more than I make in a month for only one day of work, I jumped on it without hesitation!

The shoot day was super fun. We started bright and early at around 530am, and I had both a hair and make up artist. I had already done my fitting during the weekend, so I knew what I would be wearing and how it would fit. Not even gonna lie, I hate paying for scrubs (especially when I'm in hospital-issued scrubs 95% of the time), but their scrubs fit and felt so good that I am still considering buying a few pair of my own. But anyway, back to the shoot. There was an entire crew and we filmed at the University of Miami, so there were demo operating rooms and patient rooms ready to go. As this was my first time doing anything modeling related, I had to get used to the lingo (ie reset means go back and do the same exact thing over again), but I loved seeing myself on the screens. Plus, the Amiga Studio production staff were all incredible. We shot videos and still shots and they all came out amazing! Click the pic above to watch the extended YouTube video and let me know what you think :) And if you'd like to buy a pair, feel free to check out the link HERE.

 

As for other photo shoots in January, I had always wanted to do a birthday one, so I did just that! I loved being a model and got some great shots. The crazy thing is that I had a really bad allergic reaction that caused my lips to swell up the day prior, and even though it was improving, my lips were still pretty swollen during my shoot so I received a ton of questions asking if I got fillers, lol. Nope! I just really wanted to do my photo shoot and wasn't going to let a little swelling stop my shine 😂 Overall, I ended up having a great birthday experience, and January was a fun month to ring in Chapter 38.

FEBRUARY

  

February also had it's fun and new adventures. I was with the same plastic surgery attending as the previous month, and he had just launched his new vitality drink, EUROKY, so of course there was a launch party. The party took place during my birthday weekend, so I counted it as a celebration for me since I wasn't allowed any time off for a real vacation. It was a great time and I actually enjoy the drink, so if you're into vitality energy drinks with a great taste and no jitters (I am extremely caffeine-sensitive, but this doesn't have a bad affect on me), then head over to Amazon and buy today!

I was also invited to VCOM-Virginia as part of the William G Anderson, DO Black History Month Keynote Speaker Series, and it was such an honor to speak with the students and staff of this wonderful institution! Getting to Blacksburg, VA was a bit of a feat with an almost near-death plane experience that included a diversion and a van shuttle in from a different state, but once I made it, I was happy to be there. The SNMA leadership made sure I was well accomodated, and being able to speak to over 200 attendees was incredible. 

Even before stepping foot on campus, I was absolutely floored by the level of professionalism and kindness of the faculty, staff, students, and VCOM-VA SNMA leadership. They gave me the opportunity to meet with the legendary osteopathic physician/surgeon, and civil rights leader Dr William G Anderson via zoom to hear his story personally from him, and when I arrived they gifted me with a signed copy of his book that reads "There's more room at the top...Go there!" 🥹 I truly hope my visit impacted them as positively as they impacted me.

MARCH

March was spent in Miami Beach doing a combination of aesthetic plastic surgery and hand surgery. I also completed my 4th annual plastic surgery in-service examination, and was happy to have another year behind me. Honestly, I think March was where I really started to resurface again after months of trying to be under a rock for in-service studying, work, and everything else, so I can't remember much else that happened during this month.

APRIL

The first weekend in April, I had the pleasure of visiting Newport Beach, CA for the Allergan Knowledge and Education for Young Surgeons (KEYS) program. I always love attending Allergan events because I learn so much with the plus of exploring new areas! As the meeting starts on the first day at 7am, I was able to fly in the day prior and take advantage of some much needed "me time" before the conference began. I treated myself to a massage and a day at the spa followed by a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called Ocean 48. Apparently, this was a new and extremely popular restaurant, but I was able to obtain a last minute reservation at 430pm which for me was 730pm east coast time so it was perfect! They sat me at the best table in the restaurant next to a gorgeous pool and I had the best solo dining experience ever! I literally felt like Queen Latifah in that movie where she goes to a restaurant and orders everything on the menu to enjoy her last days.

As for the conference, I loved actively learning about breast reconstruction. They even had silicone breast models that we practiced markings on as small groups. There was also an injectable portion that went over the different available fillers, and I liked how hands on it was. It's crazy how much the conference covers in only one day, but the busy resident part of me truly appreciates opportunites like this that allow me to get away without affecting my work. I also enjoy interacting with residents from other programs across the country.

I can't end April without discussing my little one as this was also her prom month. My daughter was absolutely gorgeous in her dress! I actually never got to have the true senior prom experience as I was in college full-time as a joint enrollment high school student, and I didn't really know anyone since I moved so many times during my childhood, so it has been such a blessing getting to witness my daughter have experiences I never had. 

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My daughter also finally decided on a college in April and made her announcement. I'm so excited that she will be headed to my alma mater, Louisiana State University! 💜💛💜💛 I think I'm even more glad to be done with all the college visits. We had our final one to FAU at the end of February, but over the course of the past year, I think we had more than 5, so I was tired of the whole process. I'm excited that she'll be attending a school that I am familiar with and that will help get her out of her shell while molding her to be successful in life.

MAY

And continuing on with my daughter, I'm officially the mother of a high school graduate!!!! I was so extremely proud to see my baby walk across the stage and receive her diploma with distinction in May. Celebrating her and all her accomplishments made all the stresses of graduation and partying planning worth it for me. I had planned a mommy/daughter trip but cancelled it last minute because she said she wanted to hang out with her friends. She ended up not going out and staying up under me for the week, but it was great to have uninterrupted bonding together. I'm so extremely blessed to have such a great daughter.

Oh, and speaking of graduations, Larkin Plastic Surgery officially graduated its first class of residents! We had a beautiful dinner to celebrate our outgoing chief residents at the end of May. Which reminds me, we also had our 1st ever Larkin Plastic Surgery Women's gathering at the beginning of May, and we looked good, so sharing that pic above.

JUNE

The next month sucked as I was on transplant surgery, but it was my final month as a 4th year plastic surgery resident, so that was the highlight. I also met some awesome students that knew me from social media, so it was great being able to catch up with people in real life. I honestly don't have much for June other than working. I did get to do some nice liver and kidney cases, but honestly I'm happier with plastic surgery, and I'm glad that from here on out that will be my focus for life. I ended the month (and another year of residency), by attending the Jeezy TM:101 20th Anniversary Black Tie concert, so that was my fun highlight for June.

NOW

I think that pretty much sums up the first 6 months of the year. Ya girl is officially a 5th year Plastic Surgeon (in training) as of last week, and I couldn't be happier! There's not a day that goes by where I don't wake up feeling blessed to be in the position I am in. Yeah, I might b*tch and complain every now and then, but I am truly ecstatic to be actively pursuing my dreams with a MAJOR milestone in sight! Going back through this blog and seeing where I started versus where I am now is so surreal. 5 years ago at this time, I would have never imagined that at this time I would be living in Miami and training to be a plastic surgeon. Just goes to show how God truly is in control and how trusting in Him and His process will always cause things to work out for the best. 

That's about all I have to say, but if you've read this far, thank you for much for continuing to follow along on my journey. I'm still here, still kicking, and can't wait to become your favorite plastic surgeon 😁

2024: Another Year of Happiness

December 17^th marked 11 years since this blog has been in existence, but for the first time ever since its creation, I managed to go the entire year without a single post! I've honestly thought about discontinuing this blog and not paying for the domain anymore, but out of all my various social media accounts, I find blogging to be the most therapeutic and writing brings me a ton of joy. Plus, it's crazy to believe that when I stared this blog I was just a premedical student and now I am 4th year Plastic Surgeon in training accomplishing things that I had never even dreamed of.  I originally started writing this post on the day of my actual blogiversary, but as you can see, life has been super busy and I never got around to finishing it. So with that being said, and today being New Year’s Eve, I'm going to use this post to give a recap of 2024 :)

January

During my last post, I was in Orlando, Florida completing my pediatric craniofacial and plastic surgery months. January was a continuation of my Orlando experience with Pediatric Surgery. It was a great month operating on newborns, babies, and children. I was definitely ready to return back home to Miami though. Luckily, my program called a mandatory in-person team building meeting on the last day of the month which also happened to be my 37th birthday :) We also found out that our residency program had recently received full ACGME accreditation (we were brand new when I started), so we celebrated both with cinnamon rolls and our program coordinator also gave me the sweetest birthday sign. My significant other also surprised me with surgical loupes, so it was a great end to an already fantastic month.

February

I was glad to be back home in February, but this was also the month where I tried to stay under the study rock as much as possible and used my free time to prepare for the upcoming plastic surgery in-service exam that we take every March. During the month, I was on a plastic surgery rotation that combined aesthetics, hand, and reconstruction, so it was good to be exposed to everything. I did find time to have a tiny bit of fun that month though and used it to try out the true Miami lifestyle for a night. When I moved here, I thought that nightlife was dead, but I just realized I was doing things too early lol. In February, I decided to see what the hype was about, so on a weekend I wasn't on call, I worked all day Friday, came home around 8pm and went to bed, woke up after midnight, got dressed and made it to the club at 2am and got to see Jeezy perform front in center. I had definitely been missing out!

March

March was a significant month because it was my last time ever having to rotate on General Surgery ever!!!! If you've been reading my blog for a while, then you know I basically completed a General Surgery based intern year. On top of that, the first two years of my plastic surgery residency were very general surgery heavy. It felt so good to know I will never have to remove a gallbladder or appendix again, lol.

As for other March highlights, I was able to attend the Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC) of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), and celebrate the SNMA's 60th anniversary. I am proud to have served the organization as its 54th National President (and I was the first osteopathic medical student to ever serve the organization as national president), so it was a joy being back in the conference setting and seeing thriving premedical and medical students. It was also great being able to catch up with old colleagues, and I ended the trip with my first ever cooking class! I now know how to make New Orleans style eggs benedict, pralines,  shrimp etouffee, and crab cakes :) 

As my in-service exam was finally complete and I had room to breathe. I also took some time to hang out with my daughter in March. I'm sure we filmed a random TikTok video on her account that never got shared, but as always, we had great mommy/daughter bonding time. 

April

I started off April operating on a great abdominoplasty case with my attending Dr. Adam Rubinstein. He had an observing student with him who captured some great pictures of me working, so of course I had to include the above one in this post. Since we don't do official rotations with him until our 5th year of residency, it was great getting the chance to work alongside him for a few days in April as I was on the general plastic surgery service and we had enough coverage for me to be able to leave and join him.

Because I was not allowed any PTO for most off the first half of my 3rd year of residency, I was finally able to put in a request for April. I took advantage of the time off by taking a trip with my SO to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic where we stayed at an all-inclusive and had a great time. I probably ate and drank my weight in food, so there's not much I can recap about the trip other than it was amazing.

Lastly April was the month of my daughter's junior prom and she looked absolutely amazing!!!! The picture above is just me being a proud mama, but since a lot you have been following along on this ride since she was in elementary school, I'm sure you can appreciate the growth.

May

I started off the month of May performing my first circumferential body lift, and even better, I hit the milestone of having MY FIRST ACADEMIC BOOK CHAPTER PUBLICATION!!!!! Under the guidance of my wonderful attending Dr. Christopher J. Salgado, I was able to participate in a chapter titled "Aesthetic Male Genital Surgery" in Advances in Cosmetic Surgery. Up until this point, I had published my own book and was included in various publications through my previous research, but I had never had an academic book chapter. This was a major goal for me, and I'm super thankful I was able to accomplish it.

I also took a few more days of PTO in April and spent it on a wonderful Virgin Voyages cruise. I sailed to Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas while enjoying unlimited food and great drinks. It was another great reprieve, and a fantastic end to the month.

June

June came with even more accomplishments as one of my articles discussing gender affirming hormone therapy was published. That article can be read HERE. But we didn't just stop there! I was fortunate enough to have another academic book chapter published under the guidance of my attending Dr. Tarik Husain. This chapter was one that we actually started during my intern year and submitted when I was a 2nd year plastic surgery resident, but the process was soooooo long!!!! I was so happy to finally see it come to fruition. I don't have a free PDF to share, but if you're interested in the book, you can buy it HERE.

Another major highlight of June, was being able to have the first resident clinic patient of my program and operate on my own patient. We performed a mommy makeover that included a breast augmentation, liposuction 360, liposuction of the arms, and an umbilicoplasty. I have one happy patient and it was a great experience having autonomy but with the guidance and direct supervision of my attending to ensure great results. I have so many great before and after pictures too that I received permission to share, but I don't know the full rules on what I am allowed to share under my resident status, so for now you'll have to stay tuned. Since I was very close with the patient, I will say that operating was super scary and also nerve racking because I’m not used to being close with patients or them having constant access to me. It was definitely a lesson learned in trying to avoid that, lol, but then again, I'm happy it was with me :)

July 

I officially became a 4th year Plastic Surgeon in training in July! I am now a more senior resident and with that comes more responsibility and the growing fear (and excitement!) of knowing I'll be on my own in a few years, but I'm loving every moment of it! In July, we welcomed our new interns and we had a great educational/fun night at Top Golf where we learned about wound reconstruction and ended the evening showing off our golfing skills. 

August

August was a super busy service as I was back doing microsurgery, general reconstruction, aesthetics, and gender affirmation surgery. I think we had two phalloplasty procedures and two vaginoplasty procedures just in August alone! One case alone took 16 hours to perform, and I believe I only scrubbed out once or twice to use the bathroom and eat. Although this month was super busy, I loved it because it was both challenging and fun at the same time. Plus, I learned a lot and could really feel and see myself growing as a surgeon.

 

September

September was a continuation of the August service, so it was completely busy as well. The major highlight of the month for me was being invited to attend the annual Osteopathic Medical Education Conference (OMED) as a keynote speaker for the Student Track of the conference. This was HUGE for me because the other keynote speakers for the conference were Montel Williams (one of my favorite 90’s talk show hosts) and Dr. Kevin O’ Connor (longest serving physician to the United States Presidents). I was floored that I would be considered to be a speaker at such a prestigious event, and I loved my time there! Although I was a virtual speaker with my idol Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee at OMED few years back, I had never actually attended in person until this conference. I loved interacting with my fellow DO colleagues and learning new things.

Conference season didn’t end there though as the following weekend I was in San Diego attending the annual Plastic Surgery Meeting (PSTM). It was such an insanely good conference, and I met sooo many amazing stars in the field of plastic surgery. A recap of that would make this post way longer than it should be, but please check out my Instagram post HERE so you can read about why I was so inspired.

 

October

I don’t have much for the month of October, so it was likely very busy, but I did get a chance to kick off the month by speaking to the medical students from the SNMA chapter of the University of Miami School of Medicine. I always love interacting with students, so it was a great experience.

November

November started off immediately in mommy mode as the first day was my daughter's Senior Night at school. She has been involved in band and color guard for years, so it was great  being able to walk the field with her as she was recognized for her accomplishments. I also always love seeing her perform.

I also ended up in Las Vegas at the Allergan Surgical Solutions Symposium where I participated in the breast surgery. There were amazing panels and discussions which included preoperative planning and live patient markings, reimbursement guidelines, managing complications, and even lectures on GLP-1 weight loss medications and how plastic surgeons can adapt to treating these patients. My favorite part of the conference was getting to practice markings on anatomic models and then putting the work in action as I got a chance to perform an augmentation-mastopexy (breast implants with a lift) on an actual human cadaver!

My daughter also turned 18 in November! Yep, I’ve officially been a mommy for eighteen years and I am so incredibly proud of the young woman she is becoming. We celebrated by traveling to New Orleans during her Thanksgiving break where she got a chance to check out Bourbon Street for the first time and be horrified, lol. We also toured a couple of colleges on her list (she currently has quite a few acceptances, and I am one proud mama!). Lastly, We saw Justin Timberlake perform in concert which was her only birthday wish, and through the most random occurrence ever, he said her name twice during the concert. Of course she lost it and started crying tears of happiness, so it was even more beautiful to see so much joy in her.  

December

December has been a whirlwind! Like the others, this month as been super busy and with a lot of interesting cases. Reading through this post now, I’m honestly shocked at how I’ve been able to manage studying, operating, traveling, and everything in between. Right now, I only have the time to write this post because I put in my PTO for the last few days of this month as my next two months will likely be super busy. I truly love what I do though and operating makes me so happy. Plus, my program director recently commented on how much better and faster I’ve gotten in the operating room, and that made me smile.

This month, I finally had the chance to attend the annual Florida Society of Plastic Surgeons Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida and it was a great experience. As always, I learned a lot and the location was beautiful.

As for fun moments this month, we had our residency holiday party, and it was nice being able to spend a fun evening with my colleagues. I actually started writing this post about an hour before the party, and then never got to finish it until now. The day after our holiday party, I had a chance to see Usher perform and it was a great experience. I was originally supposed to see him perform on a Saturday in October which was a lighter month work-wise for me, but because of the hurricane that month, his concert was moved to a Wednesday in December. I debated going because I worked a full day and had another full day the next, but I am glad I went. He is a great performer and it was definitely worth missing a little sleep.

I think that pretty much sums up 2024! The next two months will be spent working hard and studying even harder as I prepare for our annual inservice exam in March. I haven’t quite taken a moment to fully reflect and map out my goals for 2024, but one of our medical students recently gifted me with a beautiful gratitude book, and I plan to write something in it daily. I’ve also decided that I will start taking bigger leaps, being more unapologetic, and truly embracing this beautiful journey in 2025. If you can believe it, since starting residency I’ve really been trying my best to lie low, but playing small just doesn’t cut it for me. I am about to enter into another beautiful era of life, and I want to continue to inspire, shine, and encourage others with my light. So here’s to another year of good vibes, new goals, and growth!

If you’ve managed to read this far, thank you so much for reading and your continued support. I wish you nothing but joy, happiness, and success in 2025 and for years to come 😊

 

A Decade of Blogging!

Headshot from this year that I forgot to post lol

It's my 10th blogiversary, y'all! Okay, now I'll admit I've done a horrible job of keeping up with the blog lately especially given that this is only my fifth post of the year, but today is still super special for me. When I started this blog, I had just received my first acceptance into medical school, and after scouring the web and not being able to find anyone with a similar story as mine, I wanted to create something to not only document my journey through medicine, but help inspire and encourage others to pursue their dreams as well. I feel like I have accomplished that goal and soooo much has happened over the last decade! I went from being a scared premed unsure if I could ever accomplish my goals to being a now third year plastic surgeon in training literally living on answered prayers! So, with that being said, I'm going to use this post as a reflection and celebration of how far I've come and then end with a review of the past six months, so bear with me for what will probably be a super long post (as usual lol).

So, here is what I am celebrating with this blog today:

The Power of Sharing Our Stories

Over the past decade, I have shared my struggles, my failures, and my accomplishments. I was originally told that as a premedical student and single mother with low stats, that I would not make it into medical school. Then I was told that if I did make it into medical school, that I would never be able to pass my board exams or graduate. Then I was told that my dreams of becoming a surgeon were absolutely unattainable and that it was literally impossible to pursue my dream of becoming a plastic surgeon as a DO and someone who previously went unmatched. And yet, look at me now: a thriving third year plastic surgeon in training, public speaker, and published author, who continues to accomplish everything I was told I couldn't do. This blog has helped a lot with some of my successes. When times got rough for me and I thought I couldn't continue to push through, it was your words of encouragement that kept me going. When I thought I was alone on my journey and no one else could relate, I received messages from others on a similar path that inspired me to keep pushing. This blog has connected me with so many incredible individuals over the years, and it let me know the importance of sharing our stories. 

Single Motherhood and Medicine

I just realized that those of you who have followed this blog from the start have practically watched my daughter grow up! When I started this blog she had just turned 7, and now my baby is 17! Accomplishing my dream of becoming a physician while being a single mother was probably one of the biggest hurdles I thought I would face, and there were definitely a few naysayers who didn't hesitate to offer their opinion about how my goals were impossible as a single mother, but we made it! Looking back, it has literally taken a village though! I am grateful for the many people and classmates who helped babysit so that I could make it to the lab and thrive as a medical student. I am grateful for my sister who stepped in to help once I became a third year medical student and needed to spend more time away on rotations. I am also grateful for my family who stepped in after graduation and let my daughter come live with them so I could focus on intern year (they refused to let me move her to "dangerous" Philly lol) after not matching the first time. But most of all, I forever remain grateful to have such a smart, loving, kind and considerate daughter who has never complained about the time medicine took away from us and who continues to be one of the most supportive people in my life. Becoming a physician and navigating medicine is hard by itself, but it's even more demanding when another life depends on you. I hope the single parents who have followed me over the years have gained inspiration from my posts to keep pushing and pursue your dreams with fervor. Allow your children to be your driving force and not what holds you back. Because even if you think they aren't paying any attention, your children are watching and being inspired by you. 

Minority Women in Osteopathic Medicine

When I first started this blog, it was very difficult for me to find female minority osteopathic physicians. I briefly started a minority women in medicine section where I highlighted a few DOs, but unfortunately I didn't continue the series. Since that time, I have actually met half of the women in my Minority Women in Medicine section in person and formed great connections! And the crazy thing is that from this blog, I got a chance to meet and interact with my biggest minority female DO inspiration, Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee. I previously highlighted her on my blog almost a decade ago, but did not personally interview her. Shortly afterwards, I got the chance to introduce her to my school as a speaker, then she was a great supporter of one of my committees during my time with the Student National Medical Association, and then fast-forward to 2021 and we're not only sitting on a panel together at a major conference, but she gave MY introduction! This blog has allowed me to make so many connections with amazing women in osteopathic medicine, and I hope using this blog as a platform has helped show my fellow DO student readers that we do exist. 

Paving the Way

When I first created this blog ten years ago, I was unsure if there were others out there like me, and this blog has connected me to so many great individuals on a similar path. Even more so, it has given me the opportunity to not only share my story, but help pave the way for others. Over the past ten years, I have shown that it is possible for a single mother to make it through medical school, proof that it is still possible to be successful after not matching, and that although it may mean a longer road and a bit more struggle, with grit, dedication, and persistence, anything is attainable. I went from being an underdog of a premedical student to paving the way as a thriving medical student, the first DO student to become national president of the Student National Medical Association, ending my medical school career as a recipient of a memorial medal given for outstanding achievement, and to now recently being told that when I finish residency, I may become the first Black female DO plastic surgeon (crazy, right?!). I am thankful that this blog has allowed me to share my journey, and hopefully it inspires you to do the same. I am literally living on answered prayers, and looking back through old posts shows me just how far I have come.

You!

The last thing I am celebrating is YOU! I am so thankful for anyone who has taken the time over the years to stop by and read my posts. In my mind, no one actually reads my blog (it helps me continue to write freely lol), but every now and then I am reminded that people actually do. I still remember going through security at the Philadelphia airport a few years back and one of the workers recognizing me from my blog. Completely made my day! I also love that people of all genders and from all walks of life have found my blog useful. It truly makes me happy to know that my story continues to help others. You all are the reason why I have continued to keep up with this blog over that past ten years, and I thank you so much for the encouragement.

Now for life updates:

It has been about six months since my last post which means I have a ton to update you on! I feel like everything is a big blur, so I will start where I am now and work my way down. Hopefully I'll remember all the major highlights from each month.

Nov/Dec: 

As of November, I am currently in Orlando, Florida completing two months of pediatric craniofacial and plastic surgery, followed by one month of pediatric surgery. So far, it has been an awesome experience! My first day involved a quick orientation and then I scrubbed into a 12-hour microtia case where we completely reconstructed and created a new ear! It was such an incredible case and my first real life exposure to the procedure. I also got to harvest the the full thickness skin graft on my own for the case from measuring to removing, so I was pretty excited at the level of trust given to me on my first day with new attendings. So far, we have performed everything from cranial vault reconstruction, to cleft lip/palate repairs, to even breast reductions on teenagers. I even had my first Tessier #7 cleft patient and have experienced patients with things like Pierre Robin sequence and 22q deletion in real life now (previously it was all textbooks and videos). For those of you who follow my YouTube channel, I know I've been slacking the past three months on releasing new videos, but I think my next educational video will definitely be on the craniofacial aspect of plastic surgery. Make sure you subscribe, if you want to follow my journey visually! But overall, November and December have been a bit busy, so I've pretty much been under a rock everywhere. I'm definitely enjoying Orlando, although it is a bit chillier than Miami, but my schedule is so packed that I highly doubt I'll make it out to Disney. We shall see what January brings. The hospital I am at is absolutely beautiful though, and it has been great working with babies and children as it is not something I am exposed to often. Academically, I recently submitted a journal article this month, so I'm excited for its release as well, although it will likely be sometime next year. 

Oct: 

October was an intense month, but I loved it! I pretty much operated every day and was given way more autonomy in the operating room, so I was super happy. Somehow in between all the operating, I was even able to submit an academic book chapter and keep up with my academics as well. I started out the month with a trip to Las Vegas where I attended the Allergan Surgical Solutions Symposium, and it was incredible. I attended so many great sessions, was able to perform a hybrid breast reconstruction at a cadaver lab, connected with awesome individuals in general surgery and plastic surgery, and I even had time to hit the club and see T.I. perform in person. Later on in the month, I was able to take my daughter on a family trip to my alma mater LSU. My sister and I are LSU grads, and my mother is a West Point graduate (actually the first Black Woman from the state of Mississippi to graduate from there), and LSU was playing Army, so it was an amazing trip to show my daughter both of the schools represented in our family. We're only a year from her applying to college, so it was a great way to mesh quality time with college visit time.

Sept: 

September was another month away from home as I completed my trauma plastic surgery rotation. It was an insanely busy month as my co-resident was out the first two weeks with COVID and then the incoming resident was on vacation my final week, so I was pretty much on call the entire month for plastics at a level one trauma center. I definitely had some great cases and got more comfortable managing complex trauma repairs on my own in the ER and trauma bay, so I can't complain. Luckily, I was able to take a weekend off and attend the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS) Annual Clinical Assembly in Chicago where I sat on a panel and was able to give my perspective on the barriers facing osteopathic physicians in plastic surgery and ways we can hopefully advance them within the field. This conference was also a full circle moment for me as I ran into a wonderful surgeon who was a resident when I was a fourth year medical student doing an away rotation at her hospital. We reminisced about my time there and I was just so surprised she remembered me. Also in attendance was one of my chief residents during my time as an intern in Philadelphia, and just seeing this person reminded me of how much I went though and managed to overcome. It was also great just being surrounded by DOs in surgery for a full weekend as this is something I rarely get to see.

Miami Lady Docs :)

August

I spent the month of August rotating with my program director and a couple of my female co-residents, so it was all about the girl power! I always enjoy when I get to  work with my program director and I'm always learning a lot from him and my co-residents. I think the highlight of the month for me though was getting to attend a Black Physicians Brunch in Miami alongside the University of Miami residents. It was great being able to fellowship and connect with my peers in a safe place. Other highlights in August included seeing Beyonce in concert (waited until the last minute to get super cheap tickets), visiting a close friend in Georgia, and getting to spend a little time back home in Atlanta where I got to see an Atlanta United game. Other than that, I don't really remember most of the month lol.

Fun night with Tom Cruise

July: 

July was pretty much all plastic surgery, but I guess the highlight of the month for me was getting to see the premiere of the new Mission Impossible movie for free with a surprise appearance by Tom Cruise! He literally walked around the entire theater taking selfies with everyone (which I did not take since I looked a mess), and the movie was actually really good.

June: 

June was another trauma plastic surgery month, but I got the chance to spend a few uninterrupted days with my daughter where we had her first official college visits, checked out the Miami zoo, made candle, and just overall had great mother/daughter time. It was a great end to her school year and a great start to my now third year of residency.

I think that pretty much covers all the updates over the past six months. I still can't believe I am almost halfway done with my plastic surgery residency, and I am in even more disbelief that I have managed to keep up with this blog for ten years! To be honest, I prefer typing up blog posts to creating videos and other content as that is so time-consuming for me. I still debate if I should continue blogging though since more people tend to prefer videos. If you're reading this, I would love to know your thoughts on what you prefer. I love having this blog as a journal to remind me of how far I've come, and I hope you have found it inspiring too. But anyway, in an effort to keep this somewhat short, I just want to say thank you again for reading my story and sharing in my journey over the past ten years. It really means a lot to me, and I can't wait to share even more wonderful things in store with you all. 

Comparison is the Thief of Joy

Throwback to this time 5 years ago

The other day I watched the residency graduation ceremony at the institution where I completed my Traditional Rotating Internship year. No, I wasn't trying to purposely torture myself...I was watching to support someone I know who was graduating from internship this year in the same program. The crazy thing is I didn't realize until I started watching that I was witnessing the graduation of several people who I started and worked with during my original intern year. 

As I watched a bunch of familiar faces cross the stage, a wave of sadness hit me. These same people who I spent early mornings and late nights on grueling rotations and survived intern year with are now completing residency, and getting to start their lives as official general surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, and otolaryngologists (these are all 5 year residency programs). Additionally, this past week alone, a large number of former medical students who rotated with me during my intern year graduated from the shorter duration residencies in Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, etc and are now getting to do what they set out to do. So at this point, pretty much everyone in my graduating medical school class and a large amount of medical students who started their very first rotation with me are either attending physicians or very close to becoming one. Meanwhile, I still have four more years to go (plastic surgery is a six year residency for those who are unaware), and I'm currently covering a trauma service that somehow makes me feel like I am an intern back in Philly again.

Now don't get me wrong, I am legitimately happy for all these individuals and I love seeing their success, especially when I know how hard the struggle is. I also continue to feel truly blessed to be a part of a categorical residency program (I prayed for YEARS to be in this position), and on the path to becoming the the plastic surgeon I have always dreamed of, but I wouldn't be human if I didn't have feelings like this every now and then. 

The funny thing is I've never been one to compare myself or my journey to anyone else's. A long time ago, I pretty much accepted that my journey will go at its own pace and everything will work out perfectly once all is said and done. Due to these recent thoughts/feelings though, I figured there are probably some nontraditional premedical/medical students or other residents out there with similar experiences and feelings, so I wanted to write this post as a source of encouragement and share some random reflections below (along with random saved Instagram posts) to serve as a reminder that everything is working out perfectly even when it sometimes feels like it isn't.

I think the craziest thought I had while watching the graduation was that I was watching my graduation day and I should have been walking across that stage. But let's be real, I did not even match into a categorical position as a graduating medical student, and had I actually matched into that program, I would have been MISERABLE! I've always stayed positive on this blog, but I never did enjoy my time in my previous program. It was hard enough adjusting to the long hours and new responsibilities as a fresh intern, but I also felt like I didn't mesh well with the program or the area. From the daily microagressions and covert racism I experienced both in and out of the hospital (it literally felt worse than any area of the South I have lived in), to being alone in a new city and living in an area in Philly where people would literally riot and set cars on fire (yes, this really did happen), I couldn't wait to leave. Plus, I graduated before the MD/DO merger, so had I matched out of medical school, I would be on the five years general surgery plus three years plastic surgery route. Not matching actually turned out to be one of the best things to ever happen to me. Not only was I able to gain the experience of an intern year, but it allowed me to gain my medical license and start practicing which gave me the financial freedom to happily live life on my terms. Plus, I didn't even lose much time on my original timeline! I would be graduating general surgery now only to pursue three years of plastic surgery, whereas at this point I am about to be a third year plastic surgery resident. The above picture really sums it up well. God's timing really is the perfect timing, and I am sooo thankful that what I thought didn't work out for me, really did end up working out for me in the grand scheme of things.

Even though I'm currently on month two of Trauma Surgery right now and grumpy, I try to stay mindful that my life is a literal dream. Never in a million years did I think I would end up in always sunny and warm Miami, Florida AND as a plastic surgery resident. No matter how tough life may seem, it's important to remember where you started and appreciate the journey. When I was a premedical student, all I wanted to do was be a medical student. As a medical student, I kept this thought in mind during the rough classes, board exam studying, and long rotations to keep me going. Now as a resident, I reflect back on all those times as a medical student and unmatched physician, where all I wanted to do was be in a categorical surgical residency program. I remember being told by an attending who I reached out to during my second year of medical school with hopes of mentoring me, that as a DO I had no chance of matching into plastic surgery and I should have applied to an MD school. I remember all the interviews outside of the match where I had so much hope and then was heartbroken when I didn't get the position. I remember stalking multiple websites throughout the day in search of residency positions and frantically applying as if it would be an automatic rejection if I didn't submit within 5 minutes lol. I remember the concerned looks from people when I said I was still applying surgery and them telling me I should consider a non-surgical specialty. I remember when I literally had to call my bank to allow me to pay for my ERAS application because the cost was literally more than what I paid for my first car, but I was willing to pay whatever cost to help me achieve my dreams. I even remember Match Day 2021 when I was so jaded from the entire process that I prepared myself for another failure of a year and sadly opened up the email while still in bed since I just KNEW it wasn't going to work out for me again, AND I remember the astonishment and extreme happiness I felt at receiving an email that said I had finally matched. So yes, I recognize that I currently live and have lived a life of answered prayers. My biggest prayer right now though is that I never forget how far I've come in this journey and that I always remember the following: 

So as I watch so many amazing people achieve and enter new phases of life, I have to be mindful that everything I am going through now is in preparation for something bigger than I could ever imagine. Patience isn't my strongest virtue, but I am beyond grateful to be in my current position in life. Which brings me to my next point:

Your journey is specially made and meant only for you. Do not compare yourself to others as it will do nothing but leave you stressed out and doubting your own great abilities. The grass is not always greener on the other side, and thinking it is only serves to detour you from your own route and will leave you miserable. J. Cole said it best when he said "no such thing as a life that's better than yours...love yours". If you're someone struggling with comparing yourself with others, take the time to appreciate the small blessings in your life. People ask me all the time how I am able to stay happy and positive all the time, and it's mainly because I'm just grateful to be here. If you've been reading this blog from when I started it almost ten years ago, then you already know I survived an extremely abusive marriage. I am literally just thankful to still be alive and to know that God has kept me here for a reason. To compare my life to what appears to be the easier life for others would serve no purpose other than making me feel sad and stressed out, which is exactly what happened when I compared my journey to those graduating from residency this month. 

I think the above is the perfect quote to end this very long post with. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: don't rush the process! What is meant for you will absolutely be and at the perfect time. It can be hard watching others achieve goals that you have been working hard for, but don't waste your joy or your time comparing your journey to others. What you've got coming is way bigger and more beautiful than you could have ever imagined. 

While this post is my personal reminder to stay positive and keep pushing, I hope it has helped some of you. Until next time!