Thank You Thursday
Reframing the Future: Three Medics Who Asked Better Questions
Most of what matters never makes it into the notes.
The consultant who quietly signs off a struggling trainee’s rota to protect their sleep.
The junior doctor who buys McDonald's for the team because no one ate all day.
The GP who diagnoses a rare condition not with AI, but by remembering the shape of a patient’s voice last week.
These moments don’t trend. They don’t get CPD points. But they build the world we actually live in.
The strange thing is, we don’t thank each other for them—
not because we’re ungrateful,
but because we’re unpractised.
We’ve industrialised feedback… but forgotten how to give thanks.
So, once a week, I try to practise. Publicly. Imperfectly.
Each Thursday, I thank three people whose words or work shifted something in me—large or small.
This week, I noticed a common thread in all three:
They reframed the future.
Each in their own way, they challenged a broken assumption…
and offered something cleaner, braver, more honest in its place.
➤ @Dr Ndubuisi ‘Andy’ Egwim — steward of financial dignity for doctors
You shared the story of Dr Marius Barnard—who didn’t just assist in the world’s first heart transplant, but created Critical Illness Cover, because survival without financial stability isn’t healing.
You reminded us that legacy is not just about discovery, but protection.
Thank you, Andy.
➤ @Lily Johnston — the storyteller who became the story
You offered us a portrait of becoming—not in milestones, but in moments of unraveling.
Your story wasn’t about reinvention. It was about remembering—your body, your calling, your life.
You helped us see ourselves in the fall, and reminded us we still have wings.
Thank you, Lily.
➤ @Hillary Lin — the futurist rooted in the first 1,000 days
You exposed a quiet truth: that most “age-related” disease is really childhood-related disease on a delay.
Your reframing was subtle but seismic—longevity starts in the creche, not the clinic.
Your work will be taken for granted one day—and that’s the highest compliment.
Thank you, Hillary.
It made me wonder—
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The Real Question:
Who gets remembered… and why?
We assume legacy is forged in heroics. But what if it’s shaped, quietly, by the questions we dare to ask—and whom we ask them on behalf of?
Barnard asked: What if survival isn’t enough?
Johnston asked: What if the real transformation looks like falling apart?
Lin asked: What if we’ve been aiming at the wrong age all along?
Each question led to a new structure: of safety, of story, of science.
As medics, we’re trained in algorithms and answers. But maybe our truer contribution—
the one that gets remembered long after our audit presentations fade—
is in the questions we leave behind.
So here’s a gentle practice:
Each week, try thanking someone—not for being right, but for shifting your lens.
That shift might echo louder than you expect.
Alright, your turn
💡 Who’s the last person who helped you see things differently?
🧭 What’s a question you’re asking in your life or work that doesn’t yet have an answer?
🌱 Have you ever received a thank you that changed how you saw yourself?
Share your thoughts in the comments. And don’t forget to say thank you to the Medics featured in today’s post.