MEDICAL YEAR IN REVIEW
Expectation vs. Reality: A Brief Look at My First Two Months as a Vascular Surgeon By Celso F. Uribe II, MD
I
gave my son a kiss and hug after we sang happy birthday. It was cold, but not for the lack of affection. His first birthday was on February 16, 2021, and we were at the tail end of one of the worst winter storms in San Antonio history. My father-inlaw’s house had been without power for three days and the water had just sputtered out. With our luck, we had decided months ago to move our family and belongings to Texas in what would end up being the worst possible weeks we could have chosen. Our entire household was on a truck stuck on a frozen road in Louisiana, and the precious week I had taken off during fellowship to make this move now seemed
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SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • December 2021
wasted. Again, as it happens so often in life, my expectations were upended by reality. I chose vascular surgery because I wanted to be the guy other doctors called for help. Whether it's an emergency in the operating room or a routine outpatient referral, I love helping my fellow partners in the medical community just as much as I love helping patients. Colloquially known as the “firefighters” of the hospital, vascular surgeons could be needed at a moment's notice, on any floor, in an array of urgent scenarios. Although this may not foster the best lifestyle, I knew it was for me early on in my general surgery training. Since 2015, my goal of becoming a vascular
