Bette and Tina returned the bike to the rental place and walked a few blocks to a quaint little beachfront café to have a light lunch. Once they’d ordered and the food was served Tina continued the conversation they’d started earlier. She was intrigued as to what Bette had in mind for them.

“So tell me, what’s this thing that you’ve wanted to do since med school?”

“You know I decided I wanted to be a doctor when I was just a kid. As I grew older I became even more fascinated with the idea. When I turned 13 my mother helped me to become a Candy Striper hospital volunteer. I worked in various hospitals every summer until I was 17. My last summer before I graduated high school was spent volunteering at a Burn Unit and it was there that I saw the amazing work being done by Plastic Surgeons.”

“Is that when you decided to become one?”

“Yeah … when I saw some of the plastic surgery procedures I was literally blown away by what those doctors did to reconstruct the injuries and deformities. I always thought the best reason to become a doctor was to save lives but what I experienced that summer was doctors transforming lives. We had some patients that came in with relatively minor burn injuries and others that were so severe that it took years of reconstructive, aesthetic and cosmetic surgeries, but regardless of the severity they all had one thing in common. The work being done by the Plastic Surgeons was restorative. People were being made to feel whole again not just physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. I made up my mind then and there that Reconstructive and Cosmetic Surgery was the field for me but I’m also trained in General Surgery.”

“I didn’t know that. How long did it take you to complete your studies?”

“I attended Yale University’s combined undergraduate and medical school program so I accelerated two years then did six years of internship and residency. I was fortunate enough to have a very lucrative career at the hospital here in Los Angeles and a few years later I was afforded the opportunity to go into private practice and now to operate the Porter Clinic on Tahaa.”