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She has listened to hearts in Louisville and in Nairobi. The surroundings may be completely different, but the heart itself is the same.
“ If I close my eyes, the smells are different, the sounds are different, but hearts sound the same,” she said.“ It’ s pretty amazing.”
There is something profound in that realization for a physician whose faith centers on the sacredness and dignity of every individual. The heart does not care about a person’ s ZIP code, income, nationality or circumstances. It simply beats. And she believes the person attached to that heart deserves to be seen in much the same way: as someone of inherent value.
For all the sophistication of modern cardiology, some of her favorite moments are surprisingly simple: she loves seeing patients get healthier. When a patient stops smoking, starts exercising or loses weight, she celebrates with them.
And there is a particular outcome she considers even better than a patient needing her expertise.
“ When they can get healthier and don’ t need me as much, that’ s the best thing,” she said.
Her joke to patients captures the sentiment perfectly:“ If they could put me out of business, I would be so happy.”
It is an unusual thing for a cardiologist to say, but it reveals something important about her approach. The goal isn’ t to create dependence. It is to help people become healthier, stronger and better equipped to live the lives they are meant to live. That, too, connects back to her faith.
“ I think it provides a lot of freedom to enjoy the people around you and try to provide the best care you possibly can so they can do what they’ re called to do,” she said.
Her commitment to people extends well beyond the walls of her office.
She and her husband have seven children, including one daughterin-law, four biological children, and two children they adopted from Ethiopia 12 years ago. Dr. McFarland had known since high school that she wanted to adopt, and a mission trip to Ethiopia ultimately helped shape the family’ s decision to adopt from there.
Her husband, Kenn, whom she met at Taylor University, stepped away from his career as a certified financial planner for a time to stay home with their children, and now manages rental and Airbnb properties.“ He has been my steadfast supporter.”
Their early married life was far removed from the comforts one might associate with a successful physician’ s career. When they were first married, they lived in a small apartment they could barely afford to heat. Both were working constantly. At one point, the pipes froze while they were away at work, and the utility company called to ask whether the apartment had been abandoned because the bill was so low.
“ You could see your breath in our apartment,” she recalled. Today, her children are spread across the country, with her oldest at
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