Life is a precious adventure that we are privileged to experience. But it comes with multiple variables, many beyond our control.
I was at the pinnacle of my career as a professor of surgery, skilled surgeon and dedicated medical educator. Then I hurt my back lifting a riding mower onto a pickup bed. After three weeks of relentless back and leg pain, I acquiesced to an MRI. I suspected a ruptured disc. Wrong diagnosis, doctor! I had sustained a pathological fracture of my third lumbar vertebra, meaning cancer!
The Fates had snipped a portion of my life thread.
I underwent a 5 1⁄2- hour spinal stabilization, and the biopsy proved cancer in the bone marrow — multiple myeloma. You can’t cure this disease, only sequester it by chemotherapy, powerful doses of steroids and perhaps a stem cell bone marrow transplant. I have experienced all of these indignities and more while at the same time trying to help my wife recover from a stroke.
Albert H. Yurvati, DO, PhD, DFACOS, FACOS, FICS, FAHA, is an emeritus professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. He grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and left for the US Army, where he met his soul mate, Sharon. After medical school, he completed two residencies and was an academic cardiothoracic surgeon of national and international renown. When Sharon suffered an acute thrombotic stroke, he transitioned to become a caregiver. In 2020, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the bone marrow, and he transitioned yet again, this time to a patient.
THIS TO ME by Dr. A. H. Yurvati
Following up on his memoir “Wet My Hands” by Dr. A. H. Turvati, book two, “This to Me”, is a continuation of the influence the Fates have had on weaving, cutting, and tying the threads of his life. The book resonates with humor, history, and passion. Dr. Yurvati lives in Texas with Sharon and their Scottish Fold kittens.
