The Doctors

Today I was invited to present at an international Type 1 Diabetic Summit in Abu Dhabi.  I opened a panel discussion of patients (children) and their caregivers who shared their experiences.  Some of them were just learning to deal with things, others have been diabetic for some time and overcame amazing obstacles in the past.

While the patients' stories were amazing and sometimes heartbreaking, I also saw something else today.  I saw a room full of physicians and practitioners who cared deeply about their work and their patients.  

We often hear about the incompetent ones, or the bad experiences.  I  know I am often quick to share those because, after all, they are stranger than fiction.  

I am fortunate that I have some good doctors in my life supporting us that should not be taken for granite.  Today, within 15 minutes I saw a room full of doctors tear up as one mom shared her story, beam with pride as a young woman told about the prejudices she overcame, and then become passionately angry as another boy shared his experience of a faulty guarantee about stem cell transplants. 

It is a side of physicians that we do not often see.  I was reminded that like us, they are human.  I was also reminded that there are great doctors out there that care very deeply about their patients and their well being.