My mission is to guide others to longer, healthier, and more passionate lives.
My story
I was offered the opportunity to study medicine in the city of Belgrade, which is now the capital of Serbia.
In the beginning, it was challenging, to deal with a different language and culture, compounded by the rigors of assimilating vast amounts of medical information. But in my heart, I knew that if I succeeded at this, nothing would ever be as difficult. Gradually, my confidence grew as I passed exams and became more acclimated to my European environment, and I developed a sincere passion for what I was accomplishing.
I had great-aunts and great-uncles who were in their eighties and nineties, at the time I was studying in Belgrade, and they were mentally lucid and physically active. They had lived through two devastating world wars, yet they were still loving, affectionate, and enjoying their lives. I thought they were amazing.
All those lovely aunts and uncles lived to be more than one hundred years old, and I recall thinking that if I were blessed to live that long, I wanted to be as mentally and physically strong as they had been. A seed had been planted.
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After graduating from medical school, I chose internal medicine as my speciality. Internal medicine is the course of study for all major diseases. It’s like the quarterback of the medical practice. I did my residency at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Youngstown, Ohio where I was invited to be chief resident for the hospital and medical school. It was gruelling but I became passionate about my training.
I was offered a job in the VA hospital in Florida, in the geriatric/psychiatric unit. Most of my patients were elderly and few were still active and lucid – the exact opposite of my elderly relatives.
After three years, I transferred to the VA hospital in Long Beach, California. The private sector appeared to have fewer and fewer opportunities, as doctors were losing their autonomy to HMO’s and insurance companies. I spent the next few years in the County Healthcare Agency of Orange County, in correctional medicine. I enjoyed a certain amount of autonomy, but I was gradually losing passion for my work.
After my mother passed away, at a relatively young age from cancer, I was recalling her elderly, healthy relatives, and I was determined to try to find out why she didn’t have the same opportunity for longevity that they had enjoyed. A simpler, less stressful life was no doubt part of the equation, but I instinctively knew there was more to this puzzle.
After I attended my first anti-ageing medical convention, I felt an immediate sense that this area of medical science had the potential to answer my questions and to rekindle my passion. The legacy of medicine, from my paternal family plus the longevity from my maternal family, encouraged me to pursue this as a new field of study. Since embarking on this journey and opening my anti-ageing practice in 1997, I have renewed my passion for medicine, as well as gained more energy and passion in my life.
My mission now is to help and guide others, so they, too, will have longer, healthier, and more passionate lives.