John Bernard Waldman – 50th Reunion Essay

Namaste, Classmates,

At the age 50, I began to gradually transform myself. From my high school days at the Albany Academy, through my years at Yale, and then in medical school and residency, I was driven, focused, and competitive. Having chosen the demanding specialty of neurological surgery and then completing fellowship training in pediatric neurosurgery, I set myself on a course that reinforced those traits. As the only pediatric neurosurgeon in eastern, upstate New York, southern Vermont and western Massachusetts I lived an isolated, high stress, and all consuming professional life. In the peak years of my career, I had an unexpected insight: starting on the day I was born until that moment in time, I had spent more than 50 percent of my waking hours inside the Albany Medical Center Hospital! I resolved to reinvent myself as a more balanced, healthier person while remaining dedicated and committed to my patients. But how to accomplish this?

Albany, although not a large city, is situated in an ideal location, between NYC, Boston, and Montreal but, more importantly to my goal, it is close to the Adirondack Mountains. Hiking in the mountains would become the means for my desire to get into shape and reduce my stress levels. So began my quest. In the process I made new friends, rediscovered lessons about life, and accomplished feats that I had never contemplated before. My wife, Muffi, was a good sport about my new found pastime, accompanying me on many of my treks. Eventually we made it a yearly ritual to go on two week backpacking trips to national parks all over the country, including the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park, a 100 mile circumambulation with 46,000 feet of elevation change. Backpacking in the remote beauty of American national parks is a remarkable and grounding experience. Carrying all one needs on his or her back, surrounded by exquisite natural landscapes, is a wake up call about what is truly important in life. As I developed my new found love for the outdoors, I completed a NOLS course in Wyoming and reached the summits of the 46 highest peaks in the Adirondack Mountains in the winter.

As my retirement from medicine approached, I began to formulate a bucket list of places that I wanted to see and experience. For a hiker, of course, the number one destination is Nepal and the Himalaya. My first trip there was in 2012 and I have been back five times. I have yet to get to number two on my bucket list! The first time I went there I was fixated on the big mountains but, by the time the trip had ended it had become about the people and their culture. The cultural diversity in Nepal is extraordinary but the common denominator for all is inner peace and happiness despite a lack of material comforts. Self-discovery among the tallest mountains, the wildest and most remote terrain is transformational.

Om Mani Padme Hum