DR. WHO
Dr. Mackelaite with her
parents in Lithuania.
Dr. Mackelaite in traditional
Lithuanian garb.
Dr. Mackelaite and her husband,
Dr. Alsauskas
Dr. Mackelaite's
Wedding Day
Dr. Mackelaite and family at the beach.
Dr. Mackelaite enjoying waterfront park with her children.
When asked what she liked or disliked upon visiting the US for the
first time, Dr. Mackelaite answered, “I learned that I love chocolate
chip cookies. We didn’t have those in Lithuania, and it really is a
great invention!”
Still, visiting a country is one thing and moving permanently
is another. Leaving for the US was an emotional experience. “You
don’t realize what it’s going to be like until it’s actually time to move.
We were in the airport, and it all dawned on me at once. My dad
and mom and sister were there, and my dad started tearing up. I’m
not a big crier, but it was so sad!”
The young couple made it safely and began living in Philadel-
phia in 2004. Dr. Mackelaite completed her three-year residency
in internal medicine at the Drexel University College of Medicine,
and then stayed at the facility for a two-year nephrology fellowship.
One thing Dr. Mackelaite missed was the opportunity to practice
Lithuanian folk dancing. She managed to keep the tradition going,
performing at festivals in the US and even getting paid for perfor-
mances. “That was something I missed a lot when we moved, and
it’s really fun. I’m glad I was able to keep it up,” she said.
“My husband began studying in New York while I was still in
Philadelphia, so we had a long-distance relationship for a little while.
We still saw each other when we could, and there is a pretty big
Lithuanian community in Philadelphia. We’d built a strong social
circle of friends while we lived there.”
Following her initial fellowship, Dr. Mackelaite pursued a second
at New York Medical College at Valhalla, this one focused strictly
on transplant nephrology. While in New York, the couple had their
first child, Greta, who is now nine-years-old. “Because our travel
visa was limited to completing school, we had to go back home to
Lithuania for four months or so after our studies were complete to
fill out all our paperwork. We found jobs in Louisville before we
left, then stayed in Lithuania to put our affairs in order.”
Because Louisville qualified as “in-need” of nephrology physi-
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