S6 E8 - A Whole New Era...

Erawadi Singh grew up sleeping on a sofa in the living room of her family's one-bedroom apartment in one of New Jersey's most difficult neighborhoods. Determined to give back, she would complete her schoolwork on the floor of her parents' bedroom, earning academic scholarships for higher educational pursuits while working to contribute to school tuition and helping care for her grandmother as she suffered from Alzheimer's dementia. Era earned a fine arts degree from Emerson College in Boston, where she graduated with honors, and then pursued her lifelong interest in medicine. She studied at Touro College (graduated with honors) and then took up residency at the University of Virginia, where she was chief resident and a finalist for the Medical Society of Virginia's doctor of the year in her final year. From there Era went to Yale University, where as a Geriatric Psychiatry fellow she was elected to represent members in training for the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatrists. Unfortunately, her efforts were sidelined by sustaining a thoracic level incomplete spinal cord injury on her graduation day! I had the great pleasure of meeting Era, and her AMAZING parents, at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation last year. I'm thrilled that she has joined me, to tell us the rest of her story. So without further ado, I am proud to present, A Whole New Era…