episode 3: michael FORTUNATO

December 7, 2020

Do you know that really cliché part in every high school movie where the main character walks down the hall and is completely unrecognizable after undergoing a huge transformation?  As unrealistic as it sounds, that actually happened to me, weirdly enough. Let me explain. 

In high school, I struggled with being overweight, and it felt like this overwhelming and controlling factor on my life. When you are overweight, you are considered down and out before you even try; it’s the first thing people see about you, and they make to all sorts of assumptions about you based on that most salient feature. Fortuitously, my school required us to do a long-term service project, and I was asked to do mine by volunteering at Mount Sinai hospital in NYC. For me, going to Mount Sinai as a junior and senior was the catalyst to take control of my own health. It was working side by side with physicians that I witnessed their empathy towards patients, and it made me realize something: if I wanted to take care others, then I also needed to take care of myself. I had to become my own first patient. In the summer between my junior and senior years of high school, I lost about 70 pounds. I was unrecognizable. Those first interactions I had at Mount Sinai compelled me to build and develop resilience and self-efficacy for lasting behavioral change. Since then, I have become dedicated to fitness and living a healthy lifestyle and managed to lose over 100 pounds overall—I even completed 3 half marathons! To me, completing those marathons was the pinnacle of my transformation; it was a statement that the thing that once controlled me no longer had any power over me. It was a goal that I had set for myself when I started that journey, and to achieve it was sort of like reaching the top of the mountain. 
 

The struggles I had with my weight are intrinsically tied to my pursuit of medicine, but it was not the only thing that influenced me. I come from a family of immigrants. My mother is Polish and my father Italian. From an early age they always instilled a strong work ethic in me, but never pushed me toward a specific path. They told me I had to do what I was called to do, but it took some time for me to determine what that meant. I think that a lot of people who find their calling in medicine have a personal stake in it, whether they themselves or a loved one have experienced chronic illness or debilitating injuries. For me, it was both myself and my grandmother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease when I was in the 7th grade.
 

At the time, I could not grasp the concept of permanent memory loss or why my grandmother could not remember my name, but it was heartbreaking. I wanted to channel that helplessness into a transformative force, to make sure that no one else would ever have to experience that feeling again.
 

High school was where I really started to discern the calling to act on the helplessness my family was experiencing. My freshman biology teacher, Dr. Carew, opened my eyes to the intricacies and depth of science. I began to understand more of the biology behind my grandmother’s condition, and seeing the humanity slip away from her exposed me to the intricacies of the brain and just how amazingly complex it is. This experience led me to internalize my school’s motto, “men for others”. It inspired me to help those suffering with degenerative neurological conditions. I became drawn to neuroscience, and it came full circle for me when I was able to pursue research as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania studying neuropsychiatric disorders. That’s when it started clicking that science is interesting in itself but it needs to be actionable, and for me just studying science is not for the benefit of myself, but needed to be applicable to helping others on a wide scale.
 

Medicine is a potent tool for healing, but it is only effective when it is coupled with compassion and genuine communication. Through the interactions I had at Mount Sinai and affirming my goal of helping those struggling with neurodegenerative disorders like my grandmother, I found my calling to use my skills and experiences to be a physician that helps to break down barriers that separate us as people. Losing the weight made me proud, but helping others with their own struggles and being a motivating force in their own life changes was truly invaluable. I can’t even begin to tell you how it made me feel to have other people see my transformation and say things like, “You inspired me to do the same” or “I started going to the gym now,” or ask me what I did specifically. I was more than happy to sit down and explain because it took me so long to understand what I needed to do that I wanted to help others understand what to do if they were really interested. I understand the importance that strong social support had in pushing me to run those three half marathons, and I wanted to bring that same support into helping others achieve their own goals and overcoming the illnesses that they may struggle with.  
 

The most important thing I have learned in life is that it is the person you can be, that potential for greatness inside all of us, that is what gives life meaning. Realizing how much we are all capable of, these tremendous and awe-inspiring things that seem impossible on the surface, is what drives me every day. I think my own transformation really revealed to me the complexity of the human body and spirit and made me realize that people are not defined by illness but how we respond to it. Humans are not just defined by what happens to us, but we are defined by how we react to it. Taking into consideration everything my family and I have worked for provides an endless source of inspiration for me to achieve what I set out to do. My past and my family’s past are part of my story, and I would not be committed to being a physician if even a single part of it were changed. We all bring a unique part of ourselves into medicine, and, hopefully, we can leave this field even better than it was before us.

What are your 5 Most Recently Played Artists on Spotify?
Protest the Hero, Mastodon, Baroness, Rise Against, and Intronaut.

Who is your favorite childhood fictional character?
I loved Yu-Gi-Oh so much, so probably Yugi. I still believe in the heart of the cards.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
Probably some psychic power, like telekinesis, just to make my life a bit easier. Not for world domination, just for the little things like not having to go to my desk to get my charger.

If you were given $2,500 right now, what would be the first thing you would spend some of that money on?
Workout equipment because I miss the gym!

If someone wants to talk to you, they should lead with:
Who do you main in Super Smash Bros.? Or your favorite meme.