3 6 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U L Y 2 0 2 0
I
grew up in Miami,
the daughter of
Chinese immi-
grants, and don't recall
incidents related to my
race as a child. I
moved around a lot, so
the worst thing I had
to deal with was being
the new kid at school.
I went to medical
school in New York
and began my residen-
cy in 2017 at
Massachusetts
General Hospital in
Boston. I can't remember anything happening to me before like what
happened this March.
It was a regular day for me in the OR, just as everything was getting
serious with COVID-19. We weren't testing every patient at the time,
so I showered at work before heading home. It was really cold that
day, and I put the hood up on my winter jacket because my hair was
still wet. As I left the hospital and walked toward a subway station, I
saw a man crossing the street in my direction.
I could hear him muttering, but I couldn't make out exactly what
he was saying. As he got closer and spoke louder, it became clear:
"Why are you Chinese people killing everyone? What is f—-ing
wrong with you?" I started walking faster to get away. After
harassing me for a block, he finally gave up and disappeared.
Responding to Racism During COVID-19
