Medicine in Black and White with shades of Grey

While in medical school, I sat next to a student named Frank during histology class. He became one of my closest friends. Histology is the study of the microscopic appearance of healthy human tissues. Each student had a microscope and a histology text with color illustrations of the tissue sections that he or she used as a referenced to identify the slides under the microscopic. One day the professor was explaining in great detail, a description of microscopic cells on a page from the text that had softer color tones than those appearing on the slide viewed with the microscope. Frank leaned to me and asked me to point out the color that was being described. I thought this was strange since it was apparent from the picture in the book. I looked at the slide in his microscope to see if he was comparing the correct slide to the one described in the book. Everything looked right, and I asked him what his problem was. He told me in a hushed voice that he was color blind and had to learn the different colors in shades of grey. As a 2nd year medical student without clinical experience, I didn't give it a second thought and was totally oblivious of potential problems, if any, for a color-blind doctor.

Many years went by, and I had lost contact with Frank while we completed our internships, residencies, and military service in different locations. While I was in practice in Florida, I learned he was practicing in Los Angeles, and we resumed our friendship. I then discovered he had become an up and coming plastic surgeon who catered to a Hollywood clientele. I was flabbergasted. When I had the opportunity to see him in person during a car trip to LA with my wife and kids, I questioned him about his color blindness. Specifically, how he was able to perform surgery without being able to see the color of tissues he operated on, like the arteries, veins, and nerves. He calmly told me it was no different than driving a car and being able to tell a red from a green or yellow traffic light. He became a very successful plastic surgeon despite his color blindness and was a great surgeon and friend.

I guess the lesson I learned was that we need to look beyond color to be successful in life and what others consider impediments can be overcome successfully. I received an email that quotes a Ben Herbster, which sums it up better than I can. He stated, "The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we could become."