After the death of my father while I was in Form II at Dr. Ribero Goan School, it steadily dawned on me that I would have to assume most of the responsibility for my siblings and mother. I realized that the only way forward was to do my best as a student.

My secret desire to become a physician in the vein of my uncle gave me the necessary determination to fight for a chance at more education. A clerical job for the government presented itself as the first step in the long journey of the rest of my life. What follows is a narrative as to how I achieved my ultimate goal by a circuitous route. It goes to show that the Grace of God, perseverance and self determination can overcome impossible obstacles.

Soon after high school, I joined as a clerk at the Civil Service Commission in Nairobi. After spending almost two years filing, licking stamps and envelopes, and sweating by the stencil copying machine, I received a lateral promotion as a trainee laboratory assistant at the Veterinary Research Laboratory at Kabete. Fortunately, the research team leader to whom I was assigned encouraged me to study towards a career as a fully fledged

laboratory technician. With his encouragement and his tutelage, was able to get into a laboratory technician training program. In 1960, while preparing to appear for the laboratory technician exam, my mentor suggested that I appear for the American College entrance exam (SAT). To my surprise, I was accepted at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York as an undergraduate in Biological Sciences. Miraculously, my admission came with scholarship assistance.

After a shaky and often terrifying start, I managed to regain my bearings and earn a UN (F.A.0.) fellowship to complete my Bachelor of Science degree in 1965. Following that, I was able to take up a research assistantship at Cornell to complete my Master of Science degree in Biological Chemistry in 1967. After a brief

swan through Europe, I returned to Kenya to work at the Trypanosomiasis Research Group at Vet Labs in Kabeteand at the E.A. Trypanosomiasis Research Center in Tororo, Uganda. The work there was focused on the immunologic response to sleeping sickness in humans and animals.

While the work there was stimulating, the uncertain political future made a long term future in Kenya very precarious. I felt I had to leave Kenya.

In 1965, I chose to return to graduate school for a Ph.D. in Immunology. This was made possible by a Canadian National research Council Scholarship and an R.S. McLaughin Fellowship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Research work was directed towards understanding the cell mediaited immune response to certain arthropod borne disease. Most of the experimental work was done at the Canadian Communicable Disease Center in Ottawa, Canada.

While writing my dissertation, I became more interested in clinical medicine and less in the nerve wracking work with deadly pathogens. I entered the Queen's University School of Medicine in 1972. I obtained my M.D. in 1976 and went on to complete my medical residency at Queen's University affiliated hospitals in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

In 1978, I took up a private practice position with a Multi-Specialty Group in Kokomo, Indiana.

In 1980, I married Marina Loyola Furtado, M.A., B.Ed. We have 2 daughters and a son, all of whom are involved in clinical medicine and allied fields. After 28 years of private practice, I retired from full time practice, but remain as a consultant to Howard Regional Health System in Kokomo, Indiana. We now

spend time between our home in Indiana, winters in Florida, and Christmas in Goa.

As soon as we get rid of the travel bug, we plan on learning to play golf, catching up on all that reading and perhaps being involved in medical volunteer work.