INFLUENCERS IN MEDICINE
Pinky Promise
by V . RAMSEY ALDRICH
Before starting my medical training , I spent my Friday afternoons with the kiddos at a children ’ s hospital downtown . After a grueling week of lectures , lengthy chemistry labs and essays , I always looked forward to playing with my “ buddy .” The volunteer program pairs college students with a child who has a prolonged stay as an addendum to the Child Life program . As a student on the premedical track , I was happy to play with the kids and see life from their perspective , on the other side of medicine .
I was in my junior year of college when I met my boy K . He was a very small boy for his age and moderately mentally delayed . He spent about three hours on dialysis every other day , so instead of going to the playroom , like I did with other patients , I met him in the dialysis wing . I ’ m not sure what his medical history was , and it wasn ’ t my place to know . I was there to offer play , companionship and as much distraction from his hospital stay as possible .
Many children in the dialysis wing liked to pass the time by napping or watching a movie on their iPad . K would do this on occasion , but more often than not , the dialysis wing was filled with his cackling laughter and roaring conversations with the nurses . He was in an especially silly mood when he watched videos of pastors aggressively and physically curing people . He would wail with laughter . As an avid churchgoer himself , the thought of a pastor hitting or slapping the demons out of the congregation absolutely tickled him . I had never once seen one of those videos , and I didn ’ t get much enjoyment out of them myself , but I could watch him shake and howl with laughter all afternoon with utter content . In fact , during my time with K , I didn ’ t think about anything else . I was there to offer him a distraction from his life stressors , but in fact he also did the same for me .
In many ways , K was just as much a friend to me as I was to him . I would ask him how his father and siblings were doing , and he would ask me about my parents and sisters . He always made sure to check in with me and see how they were doing that week . His kindness and attentiveness never wavered and made me feel
16 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE