I avoided a serious injury but my mother was less lucky. She developed two neurological disorders: reflex sympathetic dystrophy and thoracic outlet syndrome. An athletic 36-year-old, she became a permanently disabled single mother who survived on government assistance. Our lives have become a multitude of office visits, procedures and surgeries; there was even a malpractice suit. I have witnessed medical miracles and horrors. Half of his body was sweating, while the other half was cold and appeared cyanotic. His illnesses sparked my interest in neurology and introduced me to a neurosurgeon, Dr. Filler, who I will be shadowing this summer. He has been in our lives for twenty years and since then, he has become my role model as a great doctor. Dr. Filler not only treats my mother's physical symptoms, but also her emotional needs; he treats his patient like a