My mentor, my friend

I have met several wonderful mentors and everyone of them has contributed immensely to my learning. I believe that a spiritual force places them in your path to guide you and push you to the next step. Today’s article is about a mentor whom I met way back in 1993. I wrote this some time ago.

I was just an inexperienced new board passer (in 1993) when I met one of the most influential persons in my life. I didn’t know it at that time, but Dr. Rafael R. Castillo has been like a guiding light, an angel on my shoulder, since the day I met him.

Dr. Raffy had called me out at the hospital wards one day. He asked me if I could look after his patients for a few days during one of his trips abroad. I was petrified. “Sir,” I reasoned, “I’m just a greenhorn first-year medical resident. I may not be qualified.” He looked at me with that kind fatherly gaze and said, “I know you can do it.” And so it was that I gained the needed confidence in looking after patients.

While seeing his patients, I noticed that they all looked up to him with tremendous awe and respect. They simply worshipped him. One time, an incredulous admirer told me that Dr. Raffy charged her only P2,000 for a one-month stay in the hospital. Then I met another adoring lady who swore that Dr. Raffy was close to being anointed a saint: “He is blessed.”

After I completed my internal medicine residency and left his wings, I was in a quandary on what to do next. Naturally, I asked Dr. Raffy and he advised that I should continue with my desire to be a cardiologist and try to attain the position of chief fellow in cardiology. I vividly remember him motioning with his hands, “Just do it one block at a time, like so.” Well, I followed his word like gospel truth and, later on, he also gave me the moral support to pass the specialty board exams, something I will always cherish in my memory.

In 2002, when I became a full-fledged cardiologist, he steered me to yet another direction. He suggested I write about a pressing health issue for a newspaper. I balked, “No, I can’t do it. I don’t know how the public might react.” Then again, he looked at me with that same persuasive fatherly gaze from long ago, “I know you can do it.” And of course, I did it!

Medicine is a profession that relies a lot on mentoring. In the olden days, medical knowledge was handed down by having senior doctors guide young apprentices. Today, this kind of mentoring still plays a part in our medical curriculum. And while some doctors focus solely on teaching the scientific aspects of medicine, Dr. Raffy offers an added dimension as he typifies two golden rules in dealing with people.

Rule 1. Always look after the other person’s interest. Dr. Raffy has the uncanny knack for understanding the varied interests of all persons involved in a meeting, balancing their personal needs with the job at hand.

Rule 2. Don’t force but persuade. There are some people who bully their way around to get what they want. Quite the opposite, Dr. Raffy affirms the adage, “It is better to give than to receive.”

Dr. Raffy has had many titles and accolades to his name. But it’s kind of hard to be cognizant of them all because he keeps them fairly hidden. And that is what impresses me about the man. Having known him for many years, I still have to fit the puzzles of his many accomplishments.

I know that he is the youngest president ever of the Philippine Heart Association. I know that he is married to Dr. Rebecca Castillo and they have two lovable daughters, Shelley and Abbie. I also know he’s a widely read columnist, the president of Charter, a research and advocacy group, and many, many more. I am not counting and neither is he. He is just content to be able to help others in his multiple capacities.

Since the day I met him, Dr. Raffy has showered me with gifts and opportunities that my cup overflows. He has taught me not just the science, but the art of medicine as well. From his selfless deeds, he has taught me to pay it forward.

Life is short and we are not certain of tomorrow. And so, while I can, I’d like to let it be known that I am most fortunate to have been mentored by such a loving and kind man, exemplifying everything I would like to be. Dr. Raffy has helped me in ways only a heaven-sent person can. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for him. Absolutely nothing.