By Deborah Ekstrom M.D. & Juris Bunkis, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday but celebrates a universal theme. No matter where we live, no matter what our lives circumstances are, we all have something we could be thankful for. Gratitude not only implies the quality of being thankful but also asks us to show readiness to return kindness to others. Scientists talk about the stages (recognition, acknowledgment and appreciation) and types of gratitude (an affective trait, a mood, or an emotion).
All of those are true, but like happiness or love, we know when we are experiencing it and we know when we are not. Thanksgiving provides us an opportunity to self-reflect and examine where we are in our lives. What makes the majority of our lives most fulfilling are the moments we spend with each other…..our parents, our children and their children and the friends we hold dear. We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with those special to you.
We trust you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Many years have passed since we finished our formal training, our residencies in plastic surgery, and began our careers as plastic surgeons. Both of us began with teaching positions, Dr. Ekstrom at University of Massachusetts and Dr. Bunkis at University of California San Francisco. We loved teaching but tired of the politics of working in large institutions and began our private practices in the 1980’s.
Mind you, we are still teaching students and colleagues whenever opportunities arise. Thousands and thousands and thousands of patients later, we are still at it – not because we have to, but because we both really love what we do! We love interacting with our patients. We love working with our staff members. We love working with each other. We love helping our patients achieve their desired results or to get over a rough patch in their lives.
We love the challenges our careers have provided us. We love the seemingly unrelated opportunities our careers have exposed us to. We consider ourselves extremely blessed to have careers that challenge us and continue to teach us something new each and every day. You, our patients, fulfill our lives and for that, we are, and eternally will be, grateful to you.
Learning together years later………
If you want to see if you can have any part of your body improved, contact us for a consultation:
For CA, please call 949-888-9700 or visit www.orangecountyplasticsurgery.com
Or for MA location, call 508-755-4825 or visit www.salisburyps.com
You can write to
Dr. Compoginis at Contact Us Form
Dr. Bunkis at Contact Us Form
or Dr. Ekstrom at mds@salisburyps.com
