When the wealthy couple saw their newborn’s face, the mother gasped, “Take him away, he’s a monster.” They abandoned him at the hospital. A kind nurse raised him. Twenty years later, the couple desperately needed a rare surgery. The world-famous surgeon walked in, revealed his birthmark, and…

down. The room settled into a heavy, expectant silence.

I gave the requisite thanks. I acknowledged my clinical team, the brilliant surgeons who worked for a fraction of what they could make elsewhere. I thanked the parents who trusted me with their most precious cargo.

Then, I paused. I took a step back from the podium and looked directly down into continue reading …