A physician ’s ode to someone who changed his life

I think it’s fair to say a small part of all of us died along with Grace McDermott. Grace was a beautiful, talented PhD student studying in Ireland who tragically passed away in a house fire this past week. She was many things — musician, blogger, extrovert, women’s rights activist — but she was also my first girlfriend. I’m still in shock. It’s hard to comprehend something like this. The mind shudders and reels, seeking to find meaning but failing. Something went wrong in the universe. I first heard on Tuesday when a member of the youth orchestra we both played in, The Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York, messaged us the horrifying news. I spent that day in a daze, breaking down that evening, crying for hours. Grace and I met on a MYO summer musical tour of China. She was a singer; I was a horn player. She confidently walked up to me after the first rehearsal, looked me in the eye, smiled, and said “Hey! I’m Grace. I like your sandals.” As an incredibly awkward high school junior with the romancing skills of a calculator, this felt something like winning the lottery. Not quite believing my luck, I somehow managed a reply, and in a few weeks, we were dating. We dated for about a year, breaking up as I went off to college. We didn’t stay close, but though I hadn’t spoken to her in almost ten years, I enjoyed every time she popped up on my Facebook feed. She’d like a post of mine. I’d like one of hers. We’d comment on each...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Primary care Source Type: blogs