that ’ s what you would do .’”
Finishing her residency in 2006 , her now-husband was still finishing surgery training and Dr . Guillory was fortunate to get a spot in the Mass Gen fellowship program . She soon stepped into a very different role as she shifted from a 100-person residency to a two-person fellowship .
“ For the most part , my life was the ICU for every moment of that year . I would joke that I could get from my apartment to the ICU in three minutes if I ran . That was kind of how my life was . No matter what was happening , my mind and my heart were in the ICU .”
Although the year was one of the hardest , it brought a great amount of growth . “ I got to see so much , and I felt so much responsibility for what was happening . If something wasn ’ t going right , I would just sit at the bedside until I could figure out a solution . I think that really helped me grow in my skill set and my ability to problem solve when faced with a patient who was struggling .”
One year later , she was finished with training and was hired as an attending at Mass Gen while Dr . van Berkel finished residency . The following year , he matched back in St . Louis , so they packed up and headed back to their old home . Dr . Guillory was able to secure a job there and served as an attending in the Surgical ICU and OR for the next two years .
It seemed that as quickly as they ’ d arrived , their time in St .
DR . WHO
Louis came to a close . With Dr . van Berkel ’ s path defined as a lung transplant surgeon , a fairly small field , the two knew they might have to move out of their comfort zone to find a program that was the right fit .
“ When he first told me he wanted to look at a job in Kentucky , I was slightly aghast as I knew nothing about Kentucky , and I ’ d never been here . I was a big city girl . I wasn ’ t sure that I was going to love it .” Spoiler alert : 11 years later and they still love it here .
At the same time , they found out they were expecting . Within just a few months , they got two new jobs , bought a house in a city where they knew no one , and welcomed their son Dexter to the world . Dexter is now 11 years old and keeps his parents busy but always feeling the love . Dr . Guillory recalled one story in particular that reminded them how proud they are of him .
“ Not that long ago , we had plans and they had to be canceled because there was a transplant . And Victor was telling Dexter that he was sorry and would hurry back and Dexter said , ‘ Don ’ t hurry Daddy , just do a good job .’”
After moving to Louisville , Dr . Guillory ’ s first job was at UofL Hospital , splitting her time between the ICUs and operative anesthesia . After being in that role for three years , and many conversations with Dr . Mark Slaughter , she shifted jobs to lead the cardiovascular
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