My first surgery here at Saratoga Hospital, I walked into the OR, and all of a sudden, I got a text message and there was the picture of the scheduling board, and it said, Reynolds in room four and Reynolds in room five. My brother was in the OR right next to me.
That first day was really special…
This story is about family. A sister and a brother, the influence of their parents, and how, while their paths took them to different places, their shared passion for medicine ultimately brought them back together again. Here, at Saratoga Hospital.
Rick:
You can go.
Dorothy:
I'm Dorothy Reynolds. I'm a pediatric ophthalmologist with Saratoga Hospital. I'm happy to be here, sitting with my brother, Rick Reynolds.
Rick:
I'm a general surgeon here at Saratoga Hospital. I've been here in Saratoga since 2005.
As family you don't quite realize how close you are, and you know for Dorothy and I, it takes a lot of reflecting for me to go back and realize, yeah, we were side by side. I mean, truthfully, for most of our life.
I think the notion of going into medicine has always been there for us.
Mom is in medicine and our father, dad, was an engineer. So, you know, you take the two together, those combined interests, and you look at what we do today, we are both surgeons in medicine.
Dorothy:
We did things a little differently. I went and joined a university hospital, a teaching institution. So, I worked with residents. I love teaching. I love my patients.
Rick:
You know, I think for me, the challenge, the greater challenge was trying to figure out how I could incorporate myself into medicine and still do the things that I'm passionate about. Surgery is, at least, for me, it's the ideal field because I'm a part of the medical field, but I still get the chance to work with my hands and to do what comes naturally to me.
Dorothy:
So, I have lots of memories of Rick taking things apart and putting them back together. I remember coming home one day, and there was my 10 speed with none of the... what are those strings? Those …
Rick:
Oh, the...
Dorothy:
From the gears.
Rick:
I needed something, and your bike happened to be sitting in the corner.
Dorothy:
That 10 speed sat in the corner for a few more years waiting for those, whatever those things were.
It's interesting, how over the years, we keep sharing these paths in terms of where we've been, and I guess where we were going. I went to college in the city at Columbia University, and he subsequently went to college in the city at Columbia University. So we were both there at the same time. He was pre-med, but I studied art history, and worked in a museum and enjoyed New York things. He subsequently went on to medical school, and I thought about it. And I pursued medical school.
We used to sometimes study together and there's always fast food restaurants around medical schools, and we always would get chicken with broccoli extra spicy with that hot oil. That was a Rick thing. And then, the other thing that Rick was the roast beef sandwich with jalapenos on it. Right? With hot peppers.
Rick:
You know what's so funny? I don't like spices.
Dorothy:
But you introduced me to those two things.
Rick:
Well, we used to study with them. That was our reward.
There's a connection that you have with children that it's not taught. … you have the same connection with my kids.
Dorothy:
Children are just so special. They're so honest.
Prior to going to medical school, I worked for two summers for a pediatric ophthalmologist. And I just enjoyed the process.
Dorothy:
It touches on different aspects of medicine in terms of neurology, ophthalmology. And then, it's also a surgical field.
I know how happy Rick has been. … when the opportunity came up, I thought about it. You know, sometimes you run away from something, but that's not what I did. I actually had the opportunity to run towards something. And what I ran towards, and was so lucky to ultimately become a part of was this great medical group here at Saratoga Hospital with such wonderful people, caring people.
Starting a practice with a hospital in such a lovely community, as Saratoga Springs, with lakes on one side and farms on the other side and really good people up here, good community.
Rick:
We are a community hospital, meaning that as the community hospital, we care for our friends, we care for our neighbors, we care for everyone within the community, but we are far more than that. We offer well beyond what one might think of in the traditional sense of a community hospital, meaning we're not small town medicine.
Dorothy:
But it’s special because it’s a community hospital. It has it all here. It has people who want to be here who are practicing great medicine, whoh are innovative, who are using the latest techniques. I remember when Rick started doing robotic surgery and I was at an academic center and I was like, “Oh!”, he was right on par with what we were doing down there.
Rick:
We provide the latest and the greatest in medical care here.
Dorothy:
My first surgery here at Saratoga Hospital, I walked into the OR, and little did I know that my brother was in the OR right next to me. And all of a sudden, I got a picture, a text message with a picture, and there was the picture of the board, and it said, Reynolds in room four or five?
Rick:
I think it was room four...
Dorothy:
Four...
Rick:
... and room five.
Dorothy:
... and room five. Reynolds, and then, Reynolds.
Rick:
That's fantastic.
Dorothy:
So that was really special.
Dorothy:
I really like my brother.
Rick:
Thank you.
Dorothy:
It's a nice thing. I love him.
Rick:
I like you too.
Dorothy:
Yeah, those hot peppers. Yeah.