There’s no way to receive the news. It’s especially tough to hear if you’re young. I am. So it was. How could this happen to me? There was no family history, I ate healthily, exercised, didn’t smoke, didn’t drink alcohol or coffee. I paid my taxes, delivered holiday meals to the needy, and I even stood when a woman entered a room. I’d share a friend’s comment when I told them my news, but I don’t curse either.
This friend’s father, a West Coast urologist, had me consult a student of his—a New York urologist practicing in open surgery. He ticked off the outstanding robotic laparoscopic surgeons in New York. I would interview all of them. There were three. He said the most notable was David Samadi. He described him in sporting terms, “If this guy were in the Major League, he’d be a superstar. Mount Sinai scouted him and his entire team and recruited them as the basis of their robotic laparoscopic program. He’s the go-to guy.”
Wow! So, I interviewed Dr. Samadi, who was unhappy to see someone too young to be in his office. But he didn’t ask the questions which by then I had heard so many times I was prepared to answer. Charming, confident , self-assured and self-secure of his talents, I was taken more by his concern for me personally, emotionally and mentally.
As I said, I visited another robotic surgeon and pored over as much written information about another as I could find. Yet when it came down to it, my inner small voice kept telling me I’d already found what I was looking for. Dr. Samadi’s team from check-in to check-out was superlative. And Dr. Samadi’s record of personally conducted robotic procedures and success rates are beyond compare.
Like my friend’s father said, Sometimes it’s not enough to get the best…sometimes you have to get lucky. I got lucky, too.
S. Davis
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