My name is Dr. Yayehyirad Mekonnen. I am 29 years old and Ethiopian in Nationality. I studied both my undergraduate medical studies and specialty training in General surgery in a town called Jimma University Specialized Hospital.
Growing up, it was always my everyday dream to become a doctor. That’s all I ever wanted to be!! So the pursuit of this kind of dream in Ethiopia is the kind which needs hard work and dedication to put it simply. I finished my residency in general surgery and started working and teaching medical students in the same hospital. But in between my stay in this hospital, which serves more than 10,000,000 patients across the South Western part of the country, I knew in my heart that helping sick kids was my call. I had a fascination towards children cardiac surgery, even if I knew for a fact that my country never had anyone trained in that field. No matter how much noble and respected I knew the field was it didn’t stop me from wishing to be one.
I had a fortunate chance of being taught by a professor of pediatric cardiology who was trained with SACH, in Israel. He always was good model and encouraged me to pursue this field of pediatric cardiac surgery. Then I knew about SACH and followed up the amazing work they were doing with kids with surgical cardiac conditions. It was the best of both worlds for me, they treat the kind of condition I will definitely face in my practice and yet with a better excellence from setup wise. Then I decided to apply for an opportunity to study with SACH in Israel. But this was not an easy decision to make because when I am done I know that I will have to return with better knowledge, skill and determination to start cardiac surgery unit in my hospital from scratch.
The SACH group was generous enough to grant me the chance to come to Israel and train with their dedicated staff and take my dream to the next level. Looking at the cured and smiling children, the caring family of SACH who treat every child as their own, the relieved parents from every corner of this world that their kids got their smiles back is an everyday confirmation that I made the right decision coming to study here.
Currently, I am pursuing my studies with a lot of interest and it only makes it better that I am being attended by doctors with vast experience in the field and whose habits are caring for kids with all their heart. I dream of making it to the end of this study and be able to take on the challenge waiting for me.
Thank you!
Source: Save a Child’s Heart.org