Aria Moreno is a medical school student who now also happens to believe firmly in the power of fate.
“I saved an organ essentially by volunteering that day,” she said.
That day she referred to was last September, shortly after Moreno began her studies at the Zucker School of Medicine. The 22-year-old from Wharton, New Jersey, volunteered to play the role of patient during an ultrasound class. It’s something many students do, but this learning experience took a frightening turn.
As Dr. Amanda Aquilo-Caudra was using Moreno to demonstrate how ultrasound works, she recognized immediately something was wrong with one of the student’s kidneys.
“I immediately saw these large dark areas and so for me alarm bells went off,” said Dr. Aquilo-Caudra. “I just said to her, ‘I think this is something you need to go see your doctor about.'”
A follow-up doctor visit confirmed the trouble: A large kidney stone was blocking Moreno’s kidney functions. Her doctor told her she could have lost the kidney had she never noticed the problem.
The student — who had been feeling fine — was rushed into surgery and doctors eliminated her kidney blockage.
“It’s just crazy that we caught it when we did,” said Dr. Aquilo-Caudra.
After several weeks in recovery, Moreno is back at school and again volunteering to play the role of patient in class.
“I am now always going to be the first and I tell everyone to volunteer because it’s important. You never know,” she said.
School officials said what happened is rare — but not unprecedented, and is all a part of studying to be a doctor.
“I will take this into my future medical career for sure of the concerns of how a patient may feel,” Moreno said.