For as long as I can remember, I’ve been surrounded by the smartest, strongest and most resourceful, persistent bunch – the women in my life.  In the beginning, I didn’t have much choice – as the saying goes, you can’t pick your family.  But as I matured and was able to choose the friends that become family, strong women were abundantly represented.

Right away, Dr. Angles struck me as a woman I would want in my tribe.  Her accomplishments and story are inspiring to say the least, but it was her humble demeanor and sense of gratitude for all the support she received on her journey that impressed me the most.

PO:  You are a Cuban refugee – when did you leave and what was it like growing up in Cuba?

Dr. Angles described her childhood as “magical.”  Her grandfather owned sugar cane plantations, or “colonias de cana” in Spanish.  They were privileged, living a lavish lifestyle that included service staff, a beach house and farms.  Fidel Castro’s Cuban revolution turned their world upside down.  She and her family became outcasts, referred to as “gusanos” or worms, a term used by Castro for any reactionary, counter-revolutionary (sane) person.

In the height of the cold war, after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion, her family was forced out of Cuba. The Freedom Flights program, operating from 1965-1973, transported over 300,000 Cubans to Florida.   Dr. Angles, then almost 14, her parents and one of two brothers were among them.  Imagine the heart wrenching decision to leave their eldest son behind…Castro wanted the 17 year old engineering student for his own army and did not authorize his departure.

Dr. Angles recalled what the pilot told his passengers as they left Cuban airspace – “You are now country-less. You are no longer Cuban citizens and you have no citizenship anywhere.”  Not exactly empathetic words of encouragement to people facing what was likely the scariest moment of their lives.

PO:  What challenges did you face in the U.S.?

Subsequent to their arrival in Florida from Cuba, Dr. Angles’ family settled in Philadelphia, where they had relatives able to help them get established.  When asked about the challenges she and her family faced, I braced myself for a litany of hardships.  What I got instead was an earful about the wonderful, supportive people who helped them succeed.  After the Cuban Revolution, many Cuban exiles arrived in Philadelphia between 1959 and 1965. Some connected directly with family and friends already in Philadelphia and others relocated from Florida. Many from this wave of Cubans created social and cultural groups that are still active in promoting solidarity and Cuban culture. El Club Cubano and Club Banence were two prominent groups at the time that provided support to Dr. Angles and her family.  This phenomenon of Cuban exiles arriving in the US, surviving and thriving with help from fellow Cubans was a commonplace occurrence in multiple other cities such as in Rochester, NY.

One of the biggest challenges for Dr. Angles
was the language barrier and overall approach
to refugee integration into US schools. 

Our school systems often struggle with placement for refugees, having little objective data on which to base decisions and having few resources to effectively evaluate student competency in the face of language barriers.  Dr. Angles entered US schools as a high school sophomore, an age where the aptitude to learn new languages tips from effortless to monumental.  Early on, she was pigeon-holed into a vocational track.  Thanks to an empathetic classmate Ana Lopez, also a Cuban refugee who advocated on Dr Angles’ behalf to their school Principal, Dr. Angles was eventually accepted into the academic track.  She went to summer school for ESL – English as a Second Language, to help pull up her grades sufficiently to qualify.  Dr. Angles credited the quality programming on PBS as being key to her learning the English language, highlighting Sesame Street’s word of the day and the “easier to follow because it’s slow” dialog in documentaries.

PO:  What inspired you to become a doctor?

Dr. Angles was intrinsically motivated to excel in school, it was in her blood.  There was no question that she would go to college – it was simply expected.  She was interested in the sciences, and wanted to start earning a living as soon as possible, not only for herself but for her parents who had sacrificed so much for their children.  Dr. Angles considered a career in physical therapy, but missed the deadline to apply to the program. A simple question from her ASPIRA  counselor who later became husband… why not a physician?  She switched to premed at Penn State (with a dual major in health administration as a plan B), and was accepted to both Temple and Harvard Medical Schools.  With the help of loans available to Cuban refugees, the promise of US citizenship within 5 years the only debt, Dr. Angles graduated from Temple with a degree in Physiatry and Rehabilitation Medicine.

PO:  What does a typical day look like for a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist?  What are the nuances that make it different?

In a nutshell, go big or go home is the theme here. Dr. Angles works at MossRehab, now part of Jefferson Health, where she runs a comprehensive, in-patient rehabilitation unit that handles highly complex cases and employs some of the most medically challenging techniques in practice today. Patients’ rehabilitation needs can stem from trauma, accidents, burns, cancer and organ transplants just to name a few.  She enjoys the challenge of in-depth specialization in innovative technology including robotics, interventional physiatry, injections, nerve blocks, electro diagnostics among others.

Patients are typically in her care for at least 14 days at the in-patient unit.  Dr. Angles finds that really getting to know her patients and their families during their extensive and intense treatment is one of the most rewarding aspects of her practice.  Her busiest days are at the musculoskeletal clinic, where she sees those same patients after discharge for follow-up care.  It’s this continuity that helps ensure all patients receive the best care possible and Dr. Angles has the latitude to determine the course and length of follow-up required.

What is a Physiatrist?

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians, also known as physiatrists, treat a wide variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons. By taking the whole body into account, they are able to accurately pinpoint problems and enhance performance without surgery.

PO:  What are your interests outside of medicine?

Outside of medicine, Dr. Angles starts her busiest days with a Peloton class, taught by none other than her own daughter.  It was her daughter Robin Arzón that inspired Dr. Angles’ interest in fitness.  After a traumatic assault, Arzón needed a path to healing and her journey into the world of fitness began with running in 2009. She later inspired her mother to do the same with a surprise family enrollment in a Turkey Trot. Dr. Angles could only walk for most of the race, and finished near last.  Running was not “a thing” among Latinos of her time.  Now she keeps up with her badass Peloton instructor and enjoys 5K runs. Her daughter is the 2x New York Times bestselling author of Shut Up And Run and Strong Mama, and she welcomed her second baby, Atlas Sage Arzón-Butler on Sunday, July 16. As Vice President of Fitness Programming and Head Instructor at Peloton, her life’s mission is to “redefine, reform, and rethink possibility through movement.”

PO:  What are your hopes for the future of medicine?

Dr. Angles’ answer was plain and simple, but powerful – access to affordable, quality healthcare for every person without demographic bias.  It brought to mind Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs – health is at the foundation, just one step up from food and water. Dr. Angles’ desire is to see all of our citizens cared for, closing the gaps that exist based on the zip code one lives in.  Her desire is for healthcare to be equitable and effective in preventing the chronic diseases that bring patients to her unit. Depriving one of quality healthcare is equivalent to depriving one of food and water.

At the close of our interview, Dr. Angles was reflective and grateful – grateful to have found a rewarding niche in medicine where the joys of healing outweigh the burnout afflicting many physicians today.

Dr. Angles is a fellow of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and a member of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. She has teaching appointments at Thomas Jefferson Medical College and Temple University School of Medicine.

Resources

1. https://www.hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/latinophiladelphiaataglance.pdf
2. ASPIRA, Inc. of Pennsylvania was formed in 1969 and primarily serves the North Philadelphia community, which has the third-largest Puerto Rican population outside of Puerto Rico. To address the low academic attainment of youth in Philadelphia, ASPIRA began its hallmark Leadership Development program in 1969, which is still active in several schools today.  https://www.aspirapa.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1415468&type=d&pREC_ID=1585802
3. https://www.robinarzon.com/about