A Note to My Patients

Life tends to pivot you away from where you thought you were going and almost always points you towards where you are meant to be.

Today (August 22, 2024) marks a pivotal day for me. After 21 years I am temporarily stepping away from clinical practice. Over the last several years I have had the opportunity to work with some truly amazing people. I have enjoyed a wonderful career and have been surrounded by incredible patients, nurses, fellows, and staff. As many of you know, I have always enjoyed practicing innovative medicine, and being able to apply this to my daily practice has been rewarding to me on so many levels.

I have also had the opportunity to share in many moments of both joy and heartbreak, and I find myself standing in admiration of the strength of many of my patients through the years who have persevered in the face of various challenges and adversity on their way to an improved quality of life on their feet.

In the immediate future, I plan on focusing my attention on the areas of my life that I have not been able to fully focus on in a while. Family will come first. I have worked so hard for so many years to climb the professional ladder while my family has taken the back seat on so many occasions due to all of my "professional" commitments. Now it is time for family to truly come first.

My kids need time, and I can finally afford to give it to them... or perhaps better stated, I cannot afford to miss out on the opportunity to be there during their crucial years of development. Don't get me wrong, I have always been there for them, just not always present in the moment like I would have liked to have been. A weakness of mine has always been not being able to say no and professional burnout is a real thing... often taking you away from those who truly need you most.

This also represents a chance to step back from the trenches as a surgeon/clinician where we face one battle at a time with each patient to approach patient care from the perspective of a "field general" where I can utilize the lessons I have learned to hopefully improve the lives of many patients and practitioners as an educator, mentor, and innovator.

While I am not sure where this new road will lead, I'm confident that I am headed in the right direction and will end up where I am supposed to be: a better father and husband, a better friend, a better mentor, a better caretaker, a better innovator... because now I will have the time, energy and focus to do so. Feeling truly blessed by my pathway to this point. Thank you to all who have helped me get here.

If you are a former patient of mine, please click here to see my letter to you.