Isang pagkilala ang natanggap ng isang Filipina-American doctor sa U.S. matapos mapiling image model para sa isang Barbie doll edition.
Meet Doctor Audrey Sue Cruz, 29, isang physician sa Loma Linda University Medical Center sa California.
Isa si Audrey sa anim na female frontliners na gagawan ng Barbie Doll version ng Mattel, Inc., ang company ng kilalang doll brand, bilang bahagi ng #ThankYouHeroes campaign nito.
Proud na proud pang ipinost ni Audrey ang short video na may ganitong caption: “I’m the first Filipina-American Physician to become a Barbie Role Model."
Anim na babae mula sa iba’t ibang bansa ang ginawang image sa Barbie doll collection dahil sa kanilang kontribusyon laban sa COVID-19.
Kabilang dito ang kanilang partisipasyon sa pagde-develop ng vaccines o kaya ay pag-imbento ng reusable doctor’s gown.
Napili si Audrey dahil sa kanyang positive impact sa komunidad laban sa racial bias at discrimination.
Dahil sa pagiging Asian-American, si Audrey at ang mga kagaya niya ay biktima ng diskriminasyon, gaya ng paninisi sa nangyayaring pandemya.
Sa halip na manahimik, kasama si Audrey sa pag-launch ng campaign na kinokondenda ang racial bias and discrimination.
AUDREY SUE CRUZ’S REACTION
Masaya si Audrey na kabilang siya sa mga babaeng kinilala at ginawan ng Barbie doll.
Post niya sa Instagram, “So excited to finally share the news! Can’t believe I’m actually writing this. I’ve been made into a @Barbie doll!
“Here’s to breaking barriers, speaking truths, and empowering the next generation.”
Itinuturing niyang karangalan ang mapili sa naturang campaign ng dollmaker company.
Pagtuloy niya sa Instagram post, “With this honor, I hope to shine a light on the commitment and compassion all frontline workers exhibited over the past year and a half and every single day.
“I hope to represent minorities in America and encourage cultural advocacy.
“I hope to represent working moms who are balancing their careers while raising a family.
“And I hope to show all young women that they can be ANYTHING they want to be — even a physician mom and engineering grad like this girl.
"Kids imagine they can be anything but actually seeing that they can, and hearing the real life stories of others, makes all the difference.
“Thank you @mattel and @barbie for recognizing healthcare workers all over the world and helping to inspire the next generation with our stories. This is a dream come true.”
FROM ENGINEERING TO MEDICINE
Lumaki si Audrey sa Las Vegas, Nevada kasama ang kanyang ina na isang Filipina nurse.
Bagamat bata pa lamang ay pangarap na niyang maging doktor, kumuha si Audrey ng kursong Bachelor of Engineering sa University of Nevada mula 2007 hanggang 2011.
Matapos makuha ang kanyang undergraduate degree, saka siya kumuha ng Doctor of Medicine sa University of Nevada School of Medicine mula 2011 hanggang 2015.
Pagkatapos noon ay naging internal medicine resident physician nga sa Loma Linda University Medical Center.
Pero bakit nga ba kumuha muna siya ng Electrical Engineering course, bagamat alam niyang gusto niyang maging doktor?
Kuwento ni Audrey sa isang YouTube video noong 2017, hilig talaga niya ang math, design, at analytical thinking.
Paborito raw niya ang Calculus subject noon.
“I really enjoy problem solving. Math came easy to me," sabi niya sa video.
Dagdag niya, kumuha rin siya ng engineering course bilang “potential back-up plan.”
Naniniwala rin siyang hindi nasayang ang pagkuha niya ng engineering course.
“I don’t regret going into engineering. I think that made me to be a better doctor,” sabi ni Audrey.
“I developed a lot of skills during engineering that really helped me out during med school.”
Sa ngayon, higit anim na taon na siyang physician sa Loma Linda University Medical Center.
HER STORY OF DISCRIMINATION
Sa YouTube video ng Washington Post noong Mayo 2020, isa si Audrey sa mga na-feature na Asian-American medical practitioners na nagbahagi ng kuwento ng diskriminasyon.
Aniya, may nakausap siyang bagong pasyente sa pamamagitan ng “telephone visit,” na ibig sabihin ay consultation via phone.
“I had no idea what she looked like, she had no idea what I looked like.”
Nag-iba ang takbo ng pag-uusap nila nang matapos daw ang konsultasyon.
“Towards the end of the visit, she started asking questions about myself as a physician,” ani Audrey.
“She asked me where I’m from. She asked me where I went to med school, college, and all these little things.
“One of the last questions that she asked was, ‘What’s your ethnicity and your nationality?’
“And I told her that I am Asian, I’m Filipino.
“Her response was, ‘Wow, I can’t believe what your people did. I wouldn’t usually choose to see an Asian doctor, but you seem nice.’”
Speechless daw si Audrey sa narinig niya.
Tinanong daw ng doktora ang pasyente kung may iba pa itong medical questions at nung sinabing wala na ay ibinaba niya ang telepono.
“It made me feel disappointed that there are people out there that feel all this way, that make that generalization that what’s going on right now, and be linked to certain people and certain ethnicity.
"People can feel like they’re outsiders, like us, at this time.
“People can feel like they don’t belong in the society that they grew up in and in the culture that they worked hard to be part of.
“We’re not bad people and we want to unite everybody because we’re all in this together no matter what race we are,” sabi ni Audrey.
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