A Big Step
August 20, 2015
I met Stan Herrin, publisher of the trade journal Outpatient Surgery magazine, in the late 1980s. Stan has been following this blog since the first entry right after I was sentenced in late August of last year. A few months back, I posted an entry titled "My Story" which was a brief overview of some of the key things in my life that led to where I am today. Shortly thereafter, Stan emailed me and asked if I would be willing to write an expanded version for his publication. He said it would be quite a departure for the magazine but that many of his readers were often under pressure to achieve financial targets. He felt that my story could demonstrate how easy it is to cross the line in certain situations and how to avoid going down the path I went down.
Initially I hesitated as I knew it would require me to shine a harsh light on my life and my actions. After reflecting on it, I felt that undertaking this project would be consistent with my goals of being honest and living a life of integrity. In addition, if telling my story can encourage one person to reflect and avoid making the mistakes I made, then it would be worth it.
I am extremely grateful to Stan and to Dan O'Connor (the editor) for the opportunity and for encouraging me to be brutally honest. It was a great pleasure to work with them (although logistically daunting!). I also want to thank my husband Ken for his input, patience and most importantly, for sticking by me all of these years. In many ways, reading this article was as painful for him as writing it was for me. It was a sobering process but ultimately cathartic and an important step in my growth.
The article is 16 pages long so set aside 20-30 minutes if you want to read it. I believe it begins on page 24 at the link below.
Outpatient Surgery Article featuring David Applegate
Thanks as always for listening and most of all, for caring.
All my best,
David
