28 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
MARY
BARRY, MD,
PHYSICIAN PARTNER
AND FRIEND
I first met Monalisa through GLMS. We hold Specialty
Speed nights for first- and second-year medical students,
who generally have no clue about what each specialty does all day in
doctoring world. I was surprised to see another person at the internist table.
She looked so young I thought she might have been a helpful resident. But no! The Real
Thing: and that is how I think of Monalisa.
She is to the manor born, if that manor be the White House. As soon as she could read, she studied the papers
and devoured the news and has spent her life trying to understand and work with those who need a problem solved, and
not just medical ones. Defining your own point of view on any issue involves listening to people who often disagree with your initial
thoughts. They may have a different vantage point and may be stuck in a rut, but listen you must. Political action requires
understanding them. Making sound policy requires coming to terms with them, constructively, to the extent
possible to solve each problem. Monalisa excels at this. Her ability to preserve a calm, welcoming,
supremely courteous manner has smoothed over many a negotiation. She sees all the shades
of gray there are, and her planning skills rival those of Senator Warren.
Hooding at
Graduation, 2011
Monalisa guards the worth of every person she meets, and brooks no
disrespect – of herself, of her patients, our staff, of anybody.
That mutual respect is why we look to her to lead us.
Nothing will be the same during COVID-19
times, except that we will need
her, and cherish her,
even more.
PRINA TAILOR, JD
COUSIN SINCE THE BEGINNING
Dr. Monalisa Tailor: that is the name you know her by, but we,
her family, call her Mug. Now, I’m not talking about a mug that you drink
from, or the act of stealing from someone, I’m talking about a legume, a Moong Bean
actually. In Gujarati, our family’s native language, it is pronounced “Mug”. You are thinking,
why is this person writing about plant species? We wanted to know about Dr. Tailor. Well, we are getting
there: regarding the moong bean, if you are unfamiliar, it’s a small green legume. It’s great cooked on its own,
but it’s delicious if you take the time to give it a soak in water and let it sprout.
Mona is the second oldest in the line of cousins. She was also always petite and, you may not know this about her, she was
very shy. I remember baby Mona didn’t really like talking much, especially when the parents were around. The
cousins usually spent the summers together, and one summer, all of a sudden, Mona found her voice.
We were making giant ice cream sundaes, of course, and there was Mona, chatting away. That’s
why we call her Mug: she sprouted, like the bean. She used her voice through high
school, then college, then medical school, then her residency and now as
a physician. So next time you see Dr. Tailor, don’t call her Mug,
save that for the actual bean. And now you know a
little more about her and a bean. Congratulations
Mug! – oops, Dr. Tailor.