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All Thanks to Serendipity

By Andrew D. Sobel, MD

It was finally time. The moment that a medical student insistent on pursuing a career in orthopedics had been waiting 3 years for. Away rotations in medical school were a thrilling experience for a variety of reasons. First, you were in a brand-new hospital with people you had never met before. Getting to learn a new system and making new friends with fellow rotators and residents was special. Second, you had the opportunity to absorb the teachings and knowledge of leaders in the field at different academic sites. What a privilege! And finally, you were on display at all times and had to be on-point with your knowledge, mannerisms, and interactions. What stress! What a challenge! This incredibly exhilarating and exhausting experience is thankfully common in the medical field, though not as prevalent in many other non-medical fields. But it is because of this critically important adventure that the most wonderful, life-changing, and serendipitous event happened to me: I re-met my wife.

Let’s back up for a moment. Jessica and I were two years apart as undergraduates at a quiet little southern school with a basketball team called Duke University. We had mutual friends, knew of each other, and even attended the same social events. But we never held a conversation. After graduation, I went on a school-sponsored trip that she was also on, but even then, we were essentially acquaintances. The opportunity for us to develop a relationship was lost, but perhaps it was for the best. At the time, I had plans to move to New London, CT, where I would be joining a lab at Pfizer and she was staying in North Carolina for 2 more years. Even the strongest relationships with well-established and long-term foundations would be tested by that. Starting a relationship at that point would have likely resulted in its demise.

Jessica and me on our trip in 2008!

My plans changed rapidly when I moved off of the waitlist at SUNY Buffalo and I ended up being able to realize my dream of attending medical school. But going into medical school, I was sure that I would be seeking a career in either Gastroenterology or Neurology; two fields in which I held research positions and had been exposed to intriguing mentors. Unbeknownst to me at the time, my true passion lied elsewhere. It wasn’t until a few months into my first year when I attended a “Specialty Speed Dating” event that I had my first glimpse into the specialty that was my true calling. At this event, I met Andrew Cappuccino, an orthopedic spine surgeon who had been a collegiate athlete and biomedical engineer like me, had a wonderful home life, and was as dynamic as anyone I had ever met. I asked to shadow him and my interest in orthopedics skyrocketed.

Years later, I was applying for away rotations using the standard logic all medical students do when considering the geography of the away rotation and its possibility of opening a door to matching in that region. I had wanted to end up in the Northeast to be close to family, so I applied to rotations in New York and Philadelphia, fortunately receiving acceptances at both. During my time in Philadelphia, Jessica found out that I was in town and graciously offered to show me around on a rare moment out of the hospital, and the rest as they say (who are “they” anyway?), is history.

Had I not moved off of the waitlist at Buffalo, I might not have been able to go to medical school. Had I not attended medical school in snowy Buffalo, I would have never met a person whose life and surgical practice intrigued me so. Had I not had the fortune of meeting such a dynamic person that had followed a similar pathway to my own and piqued my interest, perhaps I would have never found my way into orthopedics. And had I not found my way into orthopedics, it would have been unlikely that I would have applied for and gone on an away rotation in Philadelphia. And without any of those happenstances, I can almost guarantee that the woman that would eventually be my wife would have slipped through my fingers for good.

Eight years later, my wife and I are expecting our first child, have wonderful jobs that fulfill us professionally, and have built fantastic memories together. I can’t help but think that all of this was serendipity.

Jessica and me with Baby Sobel on the way, Summer 2019

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