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Dr. Mondragon,
How to say..."Thank you!...You saved my life!"
Fe Mondragon, MD is a hero. Because of her, my cancer was diagnosed early...very early. She has been my doctor for over three decades. She delivered my daugher, Kathleen, in 1992. This year she made all the difference in the world...in MY life. I knew she was being proactive when she ordered more extensive testing when there seemed to be a slight anomaly during my annual OB/GYN visit. When I got a cancer diagnosis, I learned we had caught it very early. And as everyone knows, early detection is the key! What I didn't fully appreciate until yesterday was that she was being more than a dutiful doctor...She was being heroic.
I have a new neighbor who is an MD. She is a Pediatric Oncologist. As we were chatting...getting to know each other, she was particularly interested in learning about my breast cancer diagnosis. When I told her what the specific cancer diagnosis was [INVASIVE lobular carcinoma] she grew very serious. What she said next...brought me to tears. She said..."YOUR DOCTOR SAVED YOUR LIFE!!!" (A routine mammogram would not have detected ANYTHING. Early detection was due to the ultrasound. And the next mammogram, a year later, might have been too late!)
I visited Dr. mondragon a few days after this conversation with the doctor who is my new neighbor. I wanted to personally thank Fe...and acknowledge her. I walked into her office with a gift - a bouquet of silk flowers. She loved the jewel colors of the flowers in the bouquet. She especially liked that they were silk flowers. "I'll never have to water them...and they will last forever!" Somehow I knew the jewel colors would be perfect for her. I had to add the single yellow sunflower because yellow (my favorite color) has been an integral part of my healing. I love the humble sunflower...it is perhaps my favorite flower the way it stands so unapologetically tall and strong...and oh so yellow, like the sun itself.
When I told her my story, she cried. her response to my joyous declaration (...that she had SAVED MY LIFE!) was humble. She said two things: "I am just a conduit", and then went on to add, "I just do the best I can with what I know."
I am so blessed to have Dr. Fe Mondragon in my life. Thank you, Fe, for being my doctor, my friend,...and for being so extraordinary! For you I am eternally grateful!!!
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