Posted by Sten Westgard, MS
This LabWeek celebration, I was thinking back more than three decades ago to my childhood. Back when I was in the single digits, one of the special treats for the Westgard kids was going to visit my father at the hospital laboratory.
Now, don't get me wrong. We didn't go into the actual labs and tinker with the benchwork. But we did walk through a maze of hallways to find this hidden place (it seemed like it was hidden away at the time) where my father worked. We would stop in his office, and if we behaved ourselves, he would reach into the drawer where he kept sweets and let us have a treat.
In the hallways, each door had a little window in it. So we could wander a bit, peek inside and see all the people with white labcoats on. Serious people. Doing important work. At the time, I didn't understand just what kind of work was being done in the laboratory. But my father was proud of the work being done and he impressed that upon us.
So I guess even from the youngest age, I knew that laboratories were special places.
Now, in the years since, I have learned a lot (a lot!) more about what goes on in the laboratory. The past eighteen years working with my father has taught me a great deal about testing, quality, and the impact of quality on patients.
More viscerally, I have experienced the impact of test results on my children, my family, and my friends.
So, for all of you doing this important work, Happy Lab Week, and please accept the personal thanks from all the Westgards for doing what you do.
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