My Motivation to Pursue a Career in Medicine
Mackenzie Grace Walker | Molecular Environmental Biology, Class of 2027
The stiff-legged painful gait starkly contrasted with my grandfather’s impressive stature, even in his elderly years. As a former collegiate athlete, he had undergone surgeries on his knees that brought his dream to play professionally– as with most athletes– to a screeching halt. Later on, I discovered from Wikipedia that he was named MVP of the 1961 season, and even started three games at center in nine total games played that season. In every family photo he proudly sported his University of Michigan hat, but would also speak with melancholy about his accomplished yet brief collegiate career.
As a collegiate athlete myself at the University of California, Berkeley, I know firsthand the years of hard work and dedication my grandpa was proud of, but also the love of competing which was greatly limited by his injuries. When I tore the RCL in my right thumb during a water polo game this season, rendering me unable to grab the ball, write or simply hold a cup, I was forced to make an impossible decision: try and play through the injury— risking future arthritis in my dominant hand— or non-surgically immobilize my right hand and instead relegate myself to the bench. Seeing my grandpa severely limited in his physical capabilities, I eventually decided against jeopardizing my future hand function for the short-term opportunity for more play time. Nevertheless, supporting my teammates from afar while filming games and doing modified workouts alone left me kicking myself for taking for granted the tiring drills, physical practice reps and joy of competing I had known since I was eight years old. It was then I realized how movement is a grossly under-appreciated aspect of the human body until it is compromised by an unfortunate turn of luck, preventing you from doing what you love.
Although the recovery process has felt interminable, I have gained a new appreciation for what my body has been able to physically accomplish– fulfilling my dream of playing collegiate water polo at the highest level– and a stronger resolve to help others retain functionality and get back to doing what they love. For the past semester, I have volunteered at a student-run clinic that serves residents across the Berkeley community without stable access to wellness or healthcare services. As a Footwashing coordinator at the women’s clinic, I work to clean, massage and help maintain foot health, often for elderly clients. When clients visibly relax as I work on a particularly achy spot and regain energy in their step, I feel a sense of personal pride in providing a modicum of relief. Yet, I also hope to one day expand the long-term impact I can have in reducing people’s pain and physical limitations.
To this end, I shadowed an orthopedic surgeon at the UCSF Berkeley Outpatient Center, where I encountered an older gentleman hoping to get back to his favorite morning activity of riding with his wife down to the Berkeley Marina after knee surgery. As the operating surgeon evaluated his range of motion and progress he made from weeks of physical therapy, he was ultimately cleared to ride. Watching the patient happily thank the physician, I thought of his joy at the prospect of riding with his grandchildren in a few years, and I realized that I want to be the person able to operate on the injury and hopefully set them on a path for a positive recovery, restoring a patient's quality of life with their loved ones. Fitness goals, from playing collegiate athletics to riding a bike, are worthy endeavors that I hope to help along through a career in medicine, as well as furthering research so that individuals like my grandfather can have more positive outcomes.
