Page 38 - ACTL Journal Win24

Even in those early days recovering in the Austrian hos- pital, Dr. Olson found fortune in her situation. She be- gan to visualize her new life as an amputee radiologist. She painstakingly imagined the practice of radiology with only one arm and no legs. “It seems more doable every time I practice it in my mind. I open my eyes and I smile to myself because I am really lucky to be a radiology resident and not in some other specialty that would require me to stand all day or have two hands.”
The audience learned that Dr. Olson’s positive resolve— which could so early on lead her to conclude she was lucky—laid the groundwork for her future as a wife, mother and professional.
Dr. Olson described returning to ordinary life. She needed to figure out how to cook, how to drive, and how to practice medicine with her new physical chal- lenges. Her description of that rehabilitation—and frankly reorientation—was awe inspiring. She also shared her life through a catalog of personal photos. She shared photos of her cooking. Taking care of her children. On camping trips. And on hiking trails. In one of the photos, she was being carried on her hus- band’s back in a backpack. While Dr. Olson described the mechanics of the modified pack on the screen, what captivated the audience was her ear-to-ear grin.
“Over the next 20 years, in addition to wheelchairs, I was pulled over the snow in dogsleds so we could do things like Thanksgiving snow camping in Montana and Idaho, rode horses so we could backpack in the Tahoe wilderness, rafted almost 200 miles through the Grand Canyon, and even wheelbarrowed in remote places in Patagonia and New Zealand. Not everything worked. This mermaid swimming plan failed, as did the miniature ride skier. We did try, though.”
We learned about Dr. Olson’s impressive medical ca- reer. She completed her undergraduate studies at Loma Linda University School of Arts and Sciences. She went on to graduate from Loma Linda University School of Medicine. She completed her Internship in Categor- ical Radiology and her residency in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at the White Memorial Med- ical Center in Los Angeles. In 1982, Dr. Olson joined the faculty at the University of California. As a faculty member, she served many roles—Teaching Fellow in the Department of Radiology; Assistant Clinical Pro- fessor of Radiology; Assistant Director of Diagnostic
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