Dear Nina,
Happy Birthday to Dmitri today; I cannot believe that he would have been 34 today. I have been thinking about him so much lately as I am in the midst of applying to residency and will soon graduate from medical school. I would have loved to do this with him by my side. I keep wondering which specialty he would have chosen and have narrowed it down to either Emergency Medicine (like me) or Surgery, but am leaning towards EM for him. Through EM, you can do a fellowship in Wilderness Medicine, which I feel like would be right up his alley. I really miss his presence, encouragement, enthusiasm, and support. He was going to be an incredible doctor.
It is also so odd to think that this time four years ago, we followed the election together and celebrated his birthday while studying for midterms. It will always be one of my favorite memories from my time in Grenada.
I hope that you, Alexey, Peter, his wife, and all of your family and friends are safe and healthy. This year has been scary and unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime. I hope, maybe naively, that things can return to some semblance of normal as soon as possible. I’m not sure if you are able to have a gathering this year to celebrate Dmitri, but I hope that you know that there are so many people across the country and the globe who are thinking of and celebrating him today and every day.
Love,
Caro
A Letter from Valentina, November 4th, 2020
Милая Нина, сегодня Димин день. Как бы мне хотелось быть в этот день рядом с Вами, вспомнить нашего Диму. Мы очень, очень часто с Соней говорим о нем, вспоминая моменты из нашей прошлой жизни. Диме Господь дал короткую, но такую яркую и насыщенную жизнь. Обнимаю тебя, Нина. Большой привет Алеше