Louisville Medicine Volume 65, Issue 10 | Page 32

MEMBERS
( continued from page 29 ) coming and came to their hotel with x-rays in hand begging for help .
“ These Americans were from Charleston , South Carolina . They called a surgeon back home , and the surgeon agreed to help the boy if he could make it to America ,” Dr . Turcu remembered . “ The mother came back to me and said , ‘ How am I going to go all the way to the United States by myself ? You have to come with me .’ I thought , ‘ Woman , you have lost your mind ! I have a son here . I ’ m a resident . I ’ m not going anywhere .’”
The rest is history . Dr . Turcu thought it over and realized she couldn ’ t let this mother and her poor son go alone . She relented , and arrangements were made for the three of them to stay in Charleston .
In Romania , in order to stay current with the medical progress , the medical students were using an underground network of English language medical books . These books were essential to becoming adept in medicine . As such , Dr . Turcu became fluent in English on her own . This allowed Dr . Turcu to translate between the Romanian family and the American physicians , and her fluency cleared a path for an easier transition to American society down the road .
“ I had no idea what I was doing . I had never traveled west of Romania , and I was leaving for America with a sick child . I was worried he would fall sick on the plane ride there . Once we arrived , the doctors treated me like one of their own residents . I was allowed in surgery and stayed with him day and night .”
After a month on this side of the Atlantic , the group returned home happy and healthy . For Dr . Turcu , a new sense of purpose had been discovered .
“ I was blown away by the possibilities of practicing medicine here . When we returned , I told my husband , ‘ You have no idea what ’ s on the other side . Let ’ s get medical books . I ’ m going to start studying for the U . S . licensing exams . We ’ re moving .’”
For three years , Dr . Turcu finished her residency , studied for the US Medical Licensing Exam and then interviewed for residencies in America .
“ I didn ’ t really care where I was going . The only requirement was that we go somewhere my husband could complete an MBA . If we were going to start a new life , the idea was to do it together . He had an offer from Michigan State University , so I ranked it high . It ’ s one of the best things I ’ ve ever done .”
The family moved to Lansing , Mi . in June 2001 . Two Romanian immigrants with a 4-year-old son setting out for a new life . “ At the time , you were allowed two suitcases per person on international flights . Our entire life was in six suitcases , and half of those were filled with Adrian ’ s toys . We didn ’ t have social security numbers or credit cards . We didn ’ t have phones . We rented an apartment online without ever seeing it first . We had no idea what we were doing ,” Dr . Turcu laughed . “ There is a fine line between being adventurous and irresponsible . We totally walked it .”
The Turcu ' s spent six years in Michigan shaping their lives towards their Louisville futures . They became enamored with college basketball and remain huge MSU fans . Through their son ’ s friends in elementary school , the family learned a lot about MSU basketball . “ For his last birthday in Michigan , Adrian received a basketball signed by Coach Tom Izzo . Adrian cherishes that to this day .”
Professionally , Dr . Turcu used her new environment to discover a calling beyond pediatrics . Upon entering the NICU at Michigan State , she found a type of care that immediately spoke to her on a deeper level .
“ In the NICU , everything has very clear objectives . I don ’ t have a mind for grey areas . I want to know exactly what I need to do to help my patients , and I want to do it well . The NICU gave me that , and I absolutely fell for it from the first day I walked in ,” she explained .
Caring for sick babies takes a measure of inner strength . Not only is Dr . Turcu seeing patients who can ’ t tell her what ’ s wrong , but her team must work closely with new parents often dealing with some of the most intensely stressful and desperate moments of their lives .
“ There ’ s not a lot of room for extra words ,” she said , explaining her approach . “ I ’ m here to help your baby , and your baby needs a lot of help . I ’ m not going to sugar coat or hide anything . Most people appreciate it . In the NICU , you build such a tight connection with your families because you go through many bad things together . I ’ m the one holding their hands and crying with them when times are tough . I ’ m the one telling them when things are good .”
After years of neonatology residency and fellowship , Dr . Turcu was a capable physician ready to practice . However , she came to America on a particularly strict visa waiver . She would be forced to return to Romania unless she could find a neonatology position in an underserved area willing to hire her .
“ Downtown Louisville , believe it or not , is an underserved area ,” Dr . Turcu said , explaining that the family moved very quickly after the option became available . “ Louisville was a big culture change
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