This Dallas Surgeon Is Peruvian of the Year
Dr. Aldo Rafael's medical missions to his home country have delivered life-changing surgeries to 150 of Peruvian patients for free.
By
Will Maddox
| March 3, 2023|4:13 pm
On his way to becoming a cardiac surgeon and Peruvian of the Year, people doubted that someone like Dr. Aldo Rafael could do what he was doing. At each stage, he proved them wrong.
Rafael is a cardiac surgeon at Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Hospital – Dallas and was recently named Peruvian of the Year by his home country’s government. In a ceremony last month, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented him the award in recognition of his medical mission trips to Peru to provide life-saving cardiac care to underserved Peruvians.
Rafael grew up in a small farming village called Jauja – Junin in Peru that lacked any professionals, but his parents prided themselves on education and wanted to make sure he had an opportunity to do more than farm in the village. They made sure he made it to the nearest school, which was a 30-minute ride by bus from his hometown. While there, he excelled in school, establishing himself as the top student. In high school, he continued his academic success as the top student, allowing him to attend a university. Inspired by a health scare experienced by his father years prior, he decided he wanted to be a doctor. He would end up becoming the first-ever doctor from his town.
Because he wanted a medical education, he needed to attend the National University of San Marcos, founded in 1551 and the oldest continuously operating university in the Americas. He had to take a national exam with around 40,000 other applicants for 100 spots at the university to study medicine. He scored fifth in the country and was off to Lima. He was second in his class for his medical education and set his sights on becoming a cardiac surgeon. He was told that people from the country couldn’t be cardiac surgeons, but he was out to prove them wrong. “If you don’t believe it, then I am going to do it,” he says.
More:
https://www.dmagazine.com/healthcare-business/2023/03/this-dallas-surgeon-is-peruvian-of-the-year/
- click for image of Dr. Rafael -
https://tinyurl.com/445x6hp9
