Seattle Plastic Surgeon riffs on delayed gratification.
I spent the better part of last weekend digging in the dirt and planting my spring bulbs. I had to take some extra ibuprofen this morning for my poor aching back and had to scrub extra long for surgery today to get the grime out of my poor old hands. But come spring, I will be so thrilled to see the tulips, dafodils, Dutch iris, alliums and anenomes turn the garden into a riot of blooms.
The delayed gratification of gardening reminds me of other things in life such as the delayed gratification of becoming a plastic surgeon. My training seemed to go on forever but once I finally finished my residencies and started practice (at age 35!!!), it was obvious that it was time well spent. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
And I stress to my patients that most operations involved quite a bit of delayed grantification. Facial procedures usually make the patient looks worse before they look better. Breast and body procedures leave a patient sore and gimping around for a couple of weeks. Surgical scars can take an entire year to fade and settle down. But after all the healing, it’s worth it to see a pleasing result and to say goodbye to those features that keep a patient from living their best life. It can be a little like watching a tulip push it’s way up through the dirt and bloom!
Thanks for reading. Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder
@lisalynnsowder
