12-year-old chose medicine after family health crises

Around the age of 12, Carly Faller thought about being an artist or teacher.

That was before her dad was dying of kidney failure and her grandpa was battling esophageal cancer. The experience of the family crises and the many hospital visits showed her how medicine brings art and science together.

Faller is flanked by her mom, Christy, and dad, Ron, during the White Coat Ceremony that started her medical school journey at UNMC.

“It was a pretty crazy journey as a family and inspired my desire to go into medicine,” Faller said.

She didn’t give up after being rejected the first time she applied to medical school. After a year, she tried again and was accepted.

“It taught me I wanted it even more than I thought,” said Faller of Lincoln, who matched on March 19 and will spend her residency training in internal medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Medicine also showed her that even when the odds of surviving seem impossible, hope is not gone. Her dad survived — he had a kidney transplant — and her grandpa lived another seven years.

Crisis struck their family again while she was a second-year medical student.

This time, her mom’s right kidney was removed after kidney cancer was diagnosed.

“When my mom was diagnosed, we were learning about her kind of cancer in class. It was bizarre timing and very surreal. Like what are the chances? This was just before I was to take the first set of boards,” Faller said.

“It’s been tough to balance going through med school. I laid awake some nights worrying. I remember it being really tough thinking, “Is my mom going to be okay?'”

She said there were positive and negative aspects of knowing her mom’s diagnosis as a medical student.

“I could help navigate some of the conversations and understood what the docs were talking about. At the same time, I understood too much, and it gave me some anxiety. I was aware of how things could go. It was a double-edged sword to know what could go wrong.”

Through it all, she learned some valuable lessons.

“The biggest one is that nothing is guaranteed,” Faller said. “I learned how to cherish and value time with family and friends because I’ve seen how close to death’s door we were at times. You never know when someone might not be there anymore.

“It’s also given me empathy and compassion for patients and families because I’ve been on other side. It’s taught me to be kind to people I meet.”

Faller’s parents, grandma, sister and boyfriend joined her on Match Day.

“They’re pretty proud. I’m the first in the family. I’m thankful they’re both alive to watch me do it. We are thankful that I was able to have the opportunities I did and am excited for the next part of the journey.

I don’t think we’d change anything. Our journey is what makes our story.”