#lauda archives

I started this blog during sophomore year of college, which just so happened to be one of the toughest years of my life from a personal standpoint. When I heard the story of Niki Lauda, I was inspired by his courage. I felt a connection with his unique personality, determination, and strength of character. At some points, when his sarcastic comebacks or introversion abounded, it was almost like looking in a mirror. I’m currently applying to medical school, so my fascination with him was not only due to his personal success, but was also with the medical aspect of his recovery after his crash.

When I first heard Niki’s story during the summer of my sophomore year, I was in the process of obtaining my EMT license. I remember flipping through my textbook, comparing several life-threatening conditions to Niki’s near-death experience. While observing in the emergency department, I saw a crashing trauma patient for the first time, and I truly realized what it meant for someone to be on death’s door. I couldn’t help but think of Niki as I watched the medical team hurry to manage the patient’s airway and place a central line. As I started to understand all the ways that his life could have ended in the weeks following his crash, I began to truly appreciate the work of every physician who played a part in his treatment plan. I knew that if I could contribute even a little bit of this care daily towards my future patients to improve their lives, I would consider myself blessed and successful.

The most fascinating part of Niki’s recovery, from my perspective, were his scars. Scars stick with you for life, and I think that the mental and physical aspect of recovering with scars is one of the biggest testaments to someone’s character. With my interest in the field of surgery, I was also fascinated by how surgeons were able to transform Niki's third and fourth degree burns into a result that was both functional and cosmetically appealing. I encourage you to look again, if you can stomach it, at the incredibly realistic makeup replica of his injuries in Rush. The raw, charred remains of what was once beautiful and healthy skin, pushed to the brink of what the human body can endure. His burns were life threatening, and yet when you look at his face years later, even a layperson can tell that the grafting work is extremely impressive. (And that’s with only medically necessary surgeries and not cosmetically oriented procedures, as stated by Niki.)

The tactile and visual nature of surgery has always called to me, and the aftermath of Niki’s crash expanded that surgical interest into the field of dermatology. I wanted to provide patients not only with treatment for skin conditions, but also with a cosmetically appealing result that would improve their quality of life.

After much searching, networking, shadowing, and applying while still in college, I found an opportunity to work as a Medical Assistant in the fascinating world of Mohs micrographic surgery. This highly specialized surgery aims to treat skin cancer by removing the minimal amount of healthy tissue in delicate areas such as the face, scalp, ears, and genitals. While it is extremely precise, sometimes we need to remove massive amounts of skin (like half of a scalp on one memorable patient) or even cartilage on the ear or nose where the cancer has spread. Skin grafts and flaps are a daily occurrence to repair certain areas of skin after we obtain clear margins, which means that many patients require long term wound care. Their appearance and lives are forever changed by what we do, but I am proud to always bring positiveness on their journey in order for them to be confident post-surgery.

Although Niki’s grafts and scars were not a result of skin cancer, he inspired me to be where I am today. Although I am still on my way to becoming a doctor, I have worked my butt off to get to where I am, and I am proud to be working at 22 years old in my dream medical specialty. I am proud to impact patients in a positive way every day, stemming from my inspiration that started with Niki’s journey. I wrote this reflection as a love letter not only to the memory of Niki Lauda but also to every single healthcare professional who contributed to his recovery. Thank you so much for inspiring people like me to better the world every single day.

I will end with this. A few months ago, I was preparing for surgery on a patient’s ear. Once we began, the surgeon realized that the cancer had spread into the patient’s cartilage, and we were going to have to remove practically his entire ear. Removing someone’s ear is obviously a massive undertaking, and as we were going through the intricate grafting process, I once again thought of Niki. Good ol’ Niki with one ear and half a right thigh on his face. I often wonder what he would say to my patients, who come out with wounds reminiscent of a much milder version of his own. Would he console them? No, he’d probably joke that having a scar was actually an improvement on their looks. For some of them, that might actually be true. Ha! Only joking, ya crazies!

While I’m not quite as blunt as Niki, I do try to bring aspects of his outlook on life, quick-witted humor, self-confidence, and courage to each and every patient I see. After all, everyone deserves to experience a little bit of the indomitable spirit of the Super Rat, Niki Lauda.

Danke Niki.

note: if anyone wants to message me about medical stuff or niki or just wants to chat, I will gladly respond, it just may take me a day or so!! miss y'all.