?I never knew l would become a doctor, let alone a pediatric anesthesiologist. As a kid growing up in Houston, I hated doctors. I thought they were mean. They always made you wait forever. Their clinics were set at Arctic temperatures. They poked and they prodded and they kept giving you nasty tasting medicines. When nobody was looking I would throw those pills underneath the refrigerator, just to get rid of the evidence. Mom never knew....until that one fateful day she bought a new fridge.

In residency training I had planned on becoming an adult cardiac anesthesiologist, but my soon-to-be wife told me I had the maturity level of a child and pediatrics was a better fit. And as we all know that women are much smarter than men, I listened to her. So I completed a pediatric anesthesiology fellowship instead and never looked back. Yes, she was right. But you don't need to tell her because she ALREADY knows.

Every day I get to face challenging situations. Every day I get to have a positive impact on somebody's wellbeing. And once in a while I get to save a life. And I try to do in a respectful, nurturing, and calm manner that lets patients and families feel at ease. Having surgery stinks. It's stressful. I understand. But we can get through it together. And if I do a good job at it, maybe your child will like doctors once again and quit throwing pills underneath the refrigerator.