Greenville, North Carolina - A Perfect "Match"

We live in Greenville, North Carolina.  I hope that doesn't come as a surprise to you... because we have been here for almost a year already!  But I did say we had some catching up to do and I intend to do just that.  So lets start at the very beginning (a very good place to start, I hear).

One year ago the we anxiously awaited the almighty "match" email - set to come at precisely 10 am. We sat huddled around the laptop watching the inbox. Sasha refreshing the page every few minutes just to make sure.  I finally turned my attention to the TV hoping to get through those last painful minutes pass by easier.  At 9:55 am Sasha screamed. Jumped up and down and screamed.  And then cried.  At first I was confused.  "Its not 10 yet, what is going here?!?".  Then I wasn't sure, was this a positive or negative reaction? And finally, I understood his words.  We matched!

Yes folks, after years of hard work on Sasha's part, applying to so many programs we had lost count (well... not really, I can tell you how many but I won't), and confronting a lovely variety of challenges along the way, Sasha had matched!

Now for those of you who don't speak MD educational language, let me explain.  No - there is too much, let me sum up:  Sasha was a doctor in Ukraine. He wanted to be one in the U.S. There is a way!  He  spends years studying, filing paperwork, paying fees, taking tests.  He passes them all with excellent scores. He gets a certificate saying "Congratulations, you can now call yourself a doctor... but you can't practice unless you complete a residency." Which meant we needed to apply, interview, and be magically "matched" to a program by a computer program.   Wah wah...

So the battle for residency began. We fought and lost and fought some more.  This is the way it is for foreign medical grads they say.  Just keep trying... so we did!  Finally with the help of good friends opening doors for good opportunities, many of prayers from many good people, and alot of divine intervention, we were invited for an interview.  One.

Statistically, we needed 8-9 interviews to guarantee a match.  But we only had one shot, and we were determined to make that one interview count. We practiced for days and Sasha headed off with a pocket full of polished interview techniques.  He came back in love.  He loved the program, the people, the trees, the idea of being a doctor again.  He could taste it.  But we still had to match.  We still needed to be on the list of people the program wanted...

And so we woke up March 12, 2012 and waited. And we were not disappointed.  Years of hard work and dreaming and believing had paid off with the sweet, sweet words, "Congratulations You Matched!".  Greenville, North Carolina  - here we come (or came)!

Its official!

Dr. Kudin's First Day