Dr. Albert Recio: A dose of passion and dedication

I would like to share a recipe with you that’s been tried and tested. It is not so popular because its ingredients are rare and hard to find. And although there are no alternatives to the ingredients, it has a tried-and-tested formula that, once followed to a T, would produce the most satisfying results, like nothing you’ve ever experienced.

Procedure:

Combine equal parts of intelligence, diligence, and curiosity.

Add to it a large amount of passion, sensitivity, dedication, and integrity.

Once combined, let it steep for a period of years. Then, top it off with generous sprinklings of energy and enthusiasm.

Do not bottle or store. Serve it immediately for everyone to enjoy.

Cost of recipe: Priceless.

Of course, if this product can easily be found in the neighborhood grocery, the world would be such a better place. But seriously, once in a while, we meet someone special who possesses the qualities I’ve mentioned. And just to share the room with someone like this is a deeply enriching experience because you’d learn so much you would just want to be imbued with his qualities. Some of them would rise to greatness and fame because of the contributions they would make to society and humanity in general. Some of them would live quiet lives because the need for acknowledgment and praise is of little importance to them. But definitely, they would leave a mark in the lives of the people they’ve touched.

Just recently, I came across one of this rare breed of folk. His name is Albert Recio, a relative of our friend Chito and Cherry Alarilla, a Lucena native now residing in Cambridge, Massachusetts. To me, he is a role model for aspiring Filipinos everywhere. I am sure his parents Antonio and Marietta Recio are so proud of him. I made him my guest of honor during the recent graduation at my culinary school.

Let me set the scene. The year was 2002, and a lot of medical graduates from around the world filed their applications for residency at the prestigious Harvard School of Medicine. Of course, many high-profile schools should not be snubbed. There’s Stanford, the Mayo Clinic, Baylor University, and such, but to make it to Harvard is tantamount to winning the national lottery. The odds are just that high. Among the 2,000 impressive applications filed, only 55 were granted interviews, and the list was further pared down. The lucky six were chosen: Two were Harvard graduates, another from Johns Hopkins University. There was an Olympic silver medalist rower, a woman from Northwestern University, a bemedalled Navy Seal, and last but not the least, a Filipino who graduated from the Perpetual Help College of Medicine of Biñan, Laguna. Run that by me again?

Well, yes, miracles do happen every day. This is what Albert Recio humbly shared with me. If one works towards making his dream come true, indeed it will. He himself was surprised that he was accepted. He thinks what got him accepted was his level of experience and the accomplishments he achieved at the time he applied. A cum laude graduate of physical therapy (1988), as well as medicine (1993-1997) of Perpetual Help in Biñan Laguna, Albert passed both the medical board in the Philippines and USA. He had an intensive background as an intern at the Jackson Park Hospital of Chicago.

Early on, he brought the balut to international recognition when his research on the Filipino delicacy was adjudged the best paper presentation at the 1994 Asian Medical Student’s Conference. This study was later published in the XXIII International Congress of Internal Medicine. His research shows that the exotic delicacy, which sounds much better when called as the Philippine fertilized duck egg, does not significantly raise cholesterol levels. On the contrary, it is a rich source of calcium, affirming that it is indeed "pampalakas ng tuhod," as the local folksong implies.

His humility belies the amount of credentials, experiences, and awards he garnered in a span of less than 10 years. Locally, Albert received the Josefina Laperal Tamayo Award for Excellence Community Service Award for free rehabilitation services for indigent folk. An academic scholar of Perpetual Help, he was given the highest honors in his batch (cum laude), as well as the Dean’s Gold Medal Award. He was also given an award of excellence by the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports.

Just recently, representing the Harvard Medical School-Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Dr. Albert Recio’s work won as best research paper at the Third World Congress-International Society of Physical Rehabilitation Medicine held last April in Sau Paolo, Brazil. The abstract was chosen from among 1,100 entries submitted from over 52 countries. The award-winning research is entitled "Post-Stroke Depression: Rehabilitation and Medication" and was recently published at the Third World Congress of the International Society of Physical Rehab Medicine Book of Abstracts and the Monduzzi Editore, Bologna, Italy.

Albert strikes me as a soft-spoken person, and a serious one as well. He is slightly dismayed by the somewhat lackadaisical approach of some of our local doctors to the medical profession. Not wanting to generalize, he notices that in the Philippines, doctors make their usual rounds late in the morning, while in the States, doctors start their rounds as early as 5:30 to 7 a.m. The "puwede na ’yan" attitude just won’t cut it. Based on his firsthand experience, he finds lab work here to be not so thorough. He says it is such a shame because there is so much talent in the country. Here, he says, we think we are just limited by our resources so we can only do just as much, but what it all boils down to is dedication and commitment to one’s profession, which will make a difference.

Albert is a very sensitive and caring doctor to his patients. It is his goal to further specialize in interventional spine pain management, which he says is a unique field, which not only promises to add more years to one’s life but add more life to one’s years.

What does he do in his free time, I ask. He downloads medical journals to update himself on what’s happening in his field. That’s how consumed he is with his profession.

Albert lightly quips, "It’s a 24/7 thing, and when you love what you do, that’s all that really matters."

He’s such an amazing person, and I am humbled to meet someone like him. A truly passionate person, he finds satisfaction in making a real difference in the lives of patients and their families. He has now made a difference in mine.

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For comments, e-mail the author at henysison@pacific.net.ph. E-mail Dr. Albert Recio at acrmdrpt@hotmail.com.