Random acts of kindness
I was on the hunt for a hard drive that held missing image files from 2007. Right?! Things disappear. Certainly, memory fades. I am always appreciative that computer memory is forever. GIGO – garbage in garbage out and all that. And, hard drives fail – always. But, until they go bad, what’s stored is there. My memory decays and degrades and I forget. I wonder what the memory of the human brain…. 2.5 million gigabytes.
Which brings me to – stored in a random storage bin: surgical telescope? I never called them that. “Loops.” It was magnifying lens through which you operated with a magnified surgical field. So, it was binocular magnified vision that was soon supplanted the operating microscope. They were popular just before the microscope took over neurosurgery as the go-to instrument. Dr. Fred Epstein, my pediatric neurosurgery mentor bought every resident a pair. It was his kind gift to us all. I just want to remember his kindness and remember him today as I look at the glasses I hardly used. They were a significant expense and much appreciated. When I graduated the program Fred also gave me the latest (at that time) six volume set of Youman’s second edition (now 6th). He was a brilliant surgeon, teacher, and mentor. In my own career I never forgot his kindness and often I gave back in small ways to people who worked and trained under me.
photobackstory 