Happy Holidays from the AWS!

We asked our Women Surgeons to share with us their Holiday traditions and some of their favorite memories of the holidays.

Please enjoy these delightful stories from fellow AWS members -- and feel free to share your own in the Comments.

Happy Holidays from all of us on the Blog team and the AWS!
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Minerva Romero Arenas, MD, MPH
Resident

What holiday do you celebrate and what is the special meaning of this
holiday to you?
We celebrate Christmas Eve because in the Catholic faith it is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. My family traditionally gave us kids gifts on Día de Los Reyes Magos (The 3 Wise Men), which correlates to the gifts presented to Jesus. In addition to reflecting on the spiritual meaning of the Christmas holidays, I also like to take time to think about the previous and upcoming years and to remind my family and friends how special they are to me.

What are some family traditions you have related to this holiday?
Being Mexican in the US means my family celebrates both cultures. We still celebrate primarily on Christmas Eve, we pray and sing carols, and have a Posada. Dinner varies - traditionally turkey is on the menu for this day- but we change it up according to what everyone wants to eat. One of my favorite memories was when my grandmother showed my cousins and I how to make tamales. Other years we have enjoyed catered Chinese or Indian food. After having lived in the US many years we adopted the tradition of exchanging presents on Christmas morning. On January 6th, we try to continue the tradition of eating King's cake.

Do you have a good memory of patient care during a time you worked during
the holiday?

I've had several years in residency that I could not travel back home for the holidays. I am thankful for technology like FaceTime, which enabled me to share some special moments with my family while away. Nonetheless, during the holidays the patients who are in the hospital are usually very sick & grateful to have us around helping keep an eye on them in their recovery from surgery or trauma injuries. I have to admit that some of my favorite memories are sharing food with nursing, our mid-level providers, attendings & OR staff. In particular, I am thankful for having co-workers and mentors who have invited me to join them for dinner.

Solidarity

by Minerva Romero Arenas, MD, MPH

Since medical school, I had an interest in oncology. Our professors frequently invited patients and families to come and share with our class how they were personally affected by disease. I remember meeting a survivor of glioblastoma multiforme despite having been initially given a poor prognosis. Another family shared the heartache after losing a child to neuroblastoma and their efforts in raising his siblings. I was inspired to do something to show support for patients like the ones who shared their stories with us - the patients whom I one day hoped to treat. Being on a limited student budget, I had to think outside the box since I could not afford to make "significant" monetary donations. One day I decided I would donate my hair so someone else could have a wig.

Having had long tresses for decades, I must admit I was hesitant to go for a short bob. The fear quickly faded, as the stylist transformed my ponytails into "locks of love." The selflessness I felt, as I placed those long ponytails in the mail, let me know that it was one of the best ways I could contribute outside of my dedication to the medical field. I first donated to Locks of Love, though I have since switched to the Beautiful Lengths program.

Since that time, I have donated my thick, brown locks again. However, the next time became a lot more personal. During my first week of surgery residency, one of my surgery attendings made me burst out in tears after a teaching conference. Now, there is an unspoken rule that there's no crying in surgery! (just like in baseball). But my tears were not the result of a terrible pimping session or getting chewed out for making any mistake-- I had just learned that this surgeon, my professor, had terminal cancer. Having been given less than six months, she already had beat the odds a few years from initial diagnosis. Over the next year and half, she became a mentor and had a great influence on my early development as a young surgeon. I did not think twice about donating my hair again when she faced a debulking surgery for a recurrence. During our last conversation, she smiled when I told her about the donation.

My hair grew long again; it had been more than two years since the last donation. What a perfect metaphor for my progression in residency, and the adage that a tincture of time is sometimes the best medicine. Then I found out a colleague was facing a cancer recurrence. I prepared to visit my favorite hairdresser. He gets the most length by separating the hair into at least two ponytails. That day I mailed two ponytails, 12 inches each, of solidarity. Priceless.

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Dr. Minerva Romero Arenas is a general surgery resident at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore and is completing a research fellowship at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. She obtained her MD and MPH from The University of Arizona, and studied Cellular Biology & French at Arizona State University. She is also involved in mentoring and public policy. On her personal time she enjoys spending time with friends and family, especially when it involves good food.