At just four years old, Jon Hochstein’s heart was failing. After months of waiting for a donor heart, Jon received his life-saving transplant. Now, 20 years later, Jon is graduating from Harvard Medical School and will start his pediatric residency program at Boston Children’s Hospital this summer.
Rather than avoiding hospitals, Jon’s experiences made him determined to be part of the health care system that had been so vital to him. Jon wants a career with an abundance of patient interaction so that is own experiences might help those facing health challenges.
“Some people don’t like talking about their experiences, and that’s fine,” Jon said. “For me, it felt so natural, and for many people, for many families, it’s been an essential thing to the relationship that I have with them. That’s really why I’m here, that’s really why I’m doing what I’m doing: getting to share with families of kids who have to get a transplant.”
While Jon knows there is more uncertainty in his future than...