One night, a few months ago, while bored-scrolling through the Netflix options, a documentary series called Lenox Hill caught my attention. It’s an intimate look into the lives of four doctors working at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. I wasn’t expecting much but by nine binge watched episodes later, we were blown away!

I highly recommend it to you, but be forewarned… it is gory! There’s lots of open brain surgery going on!  But if you can handle that, you’ll be privileged to look into the lives of four remarkable people and the teams they work alongside. Dr. David Langer, the chair of the Department of Neurosurgery. Dr. John Boockvar, the Vice Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery. Dr. Amanda Little-Richardson, then the Chief Resident, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Dr. Mirtha Macri, Emergency Medicine.

I marveled at their skills. This IS brain surgery after all. Add tough birth complications, and horrible illnesses, complicated, at times, by substance abuse. I was moved by their courage as they faced the worst of human disease. But more than anything else, I just couldn’t get over how they served with a deep sense of calling. They are each 2^nd mountain people, very much on a journey of destiny. They are driven by a why to live for!

Dr. Little-Richardson lived not just to help moms give birth to healthy babies but to provide special attention to women of color, like her. She offered another level of comfort and ease in the anxiety of childbirth. And she felt deeply a responsibility to represent women of color in her profession.

Dr. Macri went way beyond clinical care to an almost pastoral oversight of the colorful, complicated and broken people who came off the streets into her ER. What caught my attention about her during the series was a personal transformation from being “done” with the whole New York thing to, by the end, a deep love and commitment to the community!

Drs. Langer and Boockvar are, of course, amazingly brilliant and talented. Their work on open brains in front of the camera is breathtaking. But these guys also demonstrated a compassion and care for their patients that left me in tears. Talk about others-oriented…wow.

One moment early on in the series revealed a clue to Dr. Langer’s calling-driven work. He shared the impetus that led him to pursue neurosurgery was rooted in the desire to help people heal from the disease that had taken his own father’s life. Again, as I shared in a previous blog post, callings often emerge out of one’s personal pain.

So yeah, I’d recommend Lenox Hill in a heartbeat…pun intended. It’s cool, a little creepy, fascinating, and ultimately compelling. If you wonder what a destiny driven life looks like, here you go.

And, as always, I would be honored to help you, your family, your team or your organization wrap your head around calling and destiny. I can offer keynote speaking, workshops and personal coaching. Let me know how I can assist you!

It isn’t brain surgery, but it is certainly life altering!