• Vincent Santiago grew up in a working-class Italian/Guatemalan household in New York City, a stone's throw away from his mother's Italian immediate (and extended) family. The Santiago children were surrounded by multiple generations of loud, opinionated relatives who expected from them what they expected from every generation of children to be born of their blood: hard work, loyalty, and honesty. These core values would remain with Vincent in particular his entire life.
• Growing up in New York, Vincent struggled with being independent of his younger siblings, as well as his family. It was because of this that he spent much of his free time with his Aunt Miriam, through whom he would meet a boy who would become his lifelong best friend. The Amaro family lived a few houses down from Miriam Bianchi, and young Vincent made fast friends of all the Amaro children. Soon, they were a regular fixture in both Aunt Miriam's, and the Santiago homes.
• Vincent's interest in medicine never really 'began', but seemed to exist since he was a toddler. From 'doctoring' his siblings (and the Amaro kids) when they were ill or injured, to reading as many anatomy and biology texts he could get his hands on, Vince was always curious about the human body, how it worked, and how it could be repaired when it failed. When his own father, an anesthesiologist, had a heart attack during his eldest son's freshman year of high school, Vincent decided he wanted to be a cardiologist.
• His acceptance into Columbia University was an achievement which was thoroughly celebrated in his family. Knowing that Lyle would be staying in the city for college only made it that much sweeter for Vince. However, it was during his final year of undergrad that Mr. Santiago had his second heart attack. This time, he wouldn't recover. Burying his father, and taking his fall midterms the same week aided in Vincent's often robotic demeanor in the weeks following his father's death. He chose not to take a leave of absence from school, and stayed on campus on the weekends -- unable to comprehend that his younger brother and sister needed him in their collective time of grief.
• It would take years before Vincent really came into himself again. The grief over his father's untimely death was dealt with enough for him to push it down and bury it. His relationship with his sister evaporated, as she moved to Arizona a few months after the funeral. His brother had fallen into a bad crowd, barely graduating high school, and turning to the selling of drugs to support himself, and occasionally their mother, financially. Still, Vincent kept his distance from everyone but his own mother and the Amaro kids. He felt closer to Lyle and his sisters, than Vincent did to his own blood.
• The years would continue to pass without much interaction between Vincent and his family, while his life in academia flourished. His years in med school flew by, and he graduated toward the top of his class, before securing a cardiology residency at New York Presbeterian Hospital. His life seemed to be heading in all the right directions.
• However, in the last year of his residency, Vincent was involved in a car accident while driving back to the city after a Fourth of July party thrown by friends in the Hamptons. The accident resulted in a fatality -- the passenger of the other car involved died on the scene -- and Vincent sustaining multiple life-threatening injuries. In addition, his left leg was broken in multiple places, requiring extensive surgery and physical therapy. His dreams of becoming a cardiothorasic surgeon were put on hold indefinitely.
• The years to come were frustrating at best, and soul-crushing at worst. Vincent was no longer able to stand for prolonged periods of time, which made a cardio fellowship next to impossible. Instead, he applied for another residency, this time in internal medicine at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, California. As much as he hated leaving his mother and friends in New York, the need for a fresh start was urgent and not something he could ignore.
• San Francisco proved to be exactly what Vincent wanted, and expected. He allowed himself to be immersed in his work, eventually earning a fellowship at Kaiser Permanente after he completed his residency. Upon the end of his fellowship, Vince decided to open a private practice with an old med school friend from New York. With a new practice, and his best friend eventually moving to the Bay Area as well, his life has been brighter than its ever been.
