It is always interesting to read about people who grow up in the same town as you did, especially those who go on to do incredible things in their life. Brisbane surgeon Kellee Slater is one of those people.
Growing up in a very average family, Kellee did not dream of being a doctor from a young age. Initially planning to become a home economics teacher, it was only on the advice of her school guidance counselor that she even applied to study medicine at UQ - the day before her university preferences were due. From that moment on Kellee's destiny was to become first a doctor, then a surgeon and finally a highly specialised liver transplant surgeon.
While most of us cannot fathom spending six years at university, for Kellee this was just the beginning. Many more years of training followed, moving through the ranks of intern, registrar and finally surgeon. However Kellee was not content just being a general surgeon, instead she aspired to undertake the highly specialised area of liver transplants. The lifestyle of a surgeon is far from glamorous with extremely long hours and very little sleep being par for the course. Yet Kellee has done all this as well as having a happy marriage and four children!
What I enjoyed most about this book was the everyday language and lack of hard to understand medical terms. Kellee does indeed explain how to do a liver transplant in such a way that even those of us with no medical training can understand. Kellee's down to earth personality is evident in the way she tells her story and I felt I got a good sense of the person she is.
How To Do A Liver Transplant is an enjoyable and very interesting book that gives a massive insight into a very difficult and demanding job. It also celebrates that women really can do anything given the right opportunity and support.
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