A Teachable Moment

  This past week was truly amazing for me!  I had been preparing for the national meeting of the Speaking Consulting Network for some time since I had been chosen to present my topic " It's All About You!" in the Spotlight on Speaking competition. "It's All About You" outlines how life circumstances can actually contribute to the development of a solid personal foundation.  I was fortunate to be named the winner of this intense speaking competition but, more importantly, I was able to present the material about which I am PASSIONATE to an audience that I respect highly and who has the potential to impact other lives through their speaking and consulting careers.  The same day my article on "Issues related to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Osteonecrosis of the Jaws", published in the fantastic interdisciplinary magazine Grand Rounds in Oral-Systemic Medicine was distributed at the conference.  That night I even won the grand prize drawing at the conference and returned home to find that my picture was on the cover of The Seattle Study Club Journal.    These accolades seem to have happened overnight but anyone who writes and/or speaks knows that months of preparation precedes any positive outcome.  As a professional golfer once said," The more you practice, the luckier you get!".   This provides a background for the following comments.

  There were some health issues that I had deferred until SCN was over so, on Friday after I returned, I had a test completed that showed a mass in my thyroid gland.  The majority of these tumors are benign but the issue is clouded by the fact that my daughter had thyroid cancer at age 15 and my father died of a lymphoma that started in his neck.  So bumps in necks carry a degree of concern in our family!  I am waiting to hear from the surgeon ( a friend of mine) now.

  While I'm not looking forward to" dinking" around with this thing, I am so thankful for the opportunity to use this as a teachable moment for us all.  This past week I spoke on 3 tools for withstanding the curves life throws at us; tell yourself the truth, realistically evaluate your circumstances, and then act with courage.  What better time to practice what I've been preaching!  And what better time to remind all of you that it just takes one test result or one phone call to change our lives forever and that we need to constantly be building a solid life foundation so that the inevitable storms won't topple us.

  So a new adventure begins!  I am confident that whatever occurs, I will be a better surgeon, speaker and writer because of what I will be able to experience.  I'll continue to blog on this and other issues so, if you'd like to keep up with Dr. Marty in Lake Wobegon, MN you can subscribe to this blog.  I'd be honored if you do!