Dr. Hassan Tetteh is a board-certified surgeon specializing in thoracic surgery, critical care, heart and lung transplantation, research and education. He is a member of the Washington Regional Transplant Community.
Hi, my name is Hassan Tetteh. I'm a physician and surgeon and I'd like to talk to you today about the word perseverance and what it means to me. There are two event in my life that really embody, for me, the word perseverance. First event was running my very first marathon. I have had the great fortunate opportunity to run several marathons in my life but I'll never forget my first marathon. It all started with a bet, a bet with a friend of mine that I can complete and run a marathon even though I had never ran one before and wasn't an avid runner. But over the course of several weeks to months, I learned all there was to know about running, especially running a marathon. And with each step, and with each day, and with each week, it's a perseverance to keep going although there were many times I wanted to quit. And when I crossed the finish line after running my first marathon in New York City, it was an amazing day and I shed many tears of joy on that day. It was a great feeling and I have perseverance to thank for it. Second event was writing my first novel, Gifts of the Heart. That to took a lot of perseverance. It took a lot of diligent work, lot of discipline, and lots of sleepless and restless nights writing, revising, revising, writing, and revising, and the perseverance to keep going in keeping my eye on the prize. Those two events, writing my first novel, Gifts of the Heart and running my first marathon in New York City, those two events embody the word perseverance for me and all that it entails.
Last Updated: August 19, 2023
