Written by Bloom Magazine
Marisel Medina, DPM is a Board-Certified Podiatrist at Orthopaedic Center of South Florida
Meet Dr. Marisel Medina is a Board-Certified podiatrist specializing in podiatric medicine at the Orthopaedic Center of South Florida. The surgeon was born and raised in Orlando, FL. Her parents originated in Cuba and later made their way to the United States in 1967 to flee the Castro regime.
During an interview with Dr. Medina, she recounts how her father made his way to the states. “People think that my parents came straight to Florida from Cuba but it didn’t happen like that. They actually came in way of New York from Spain.”
Medina says her father, Rafael Medina, was against the communist regime and was placed in a concentration type jail with his brother. During their time in the jail, the brothers came across a Captain-General who asked them, “Aren’t you Medina’s kids?” Dr. Medina recounts her grandparents having a farm and helping the less fortunate. The General told Medina’s father and uncle that their mother would give him and his family food.
“ He remembered how wonderful my grandparents were to his family and they didn’t starve. The guard told my father that he was forever indebted to the family. He later took my father and uncle out of the camp and sent them on an excursion in Spain.”
A month later, the Medina brothers came to New York and quickly moved to California. They worked 5 jobs to bring over their families from Cuba. A few months in California, the Medina’s experienced an earthquake and quickly moved to Orlando, FL in 1969.
Her father later started the first Cuban grocery store for the community in 1970. In 1973, Dr. Marisel Medina was born and she recalls growing up in the store.
“I was born and raised in the grocery store, literally, my first words were 3 for .99 cents in Spanish. I didn’t say ‘Mami, Papi No, I said, 3 por 99 centavos. At 9 months, I was already walking, I was in a playpen behind the register.”
Later, her father and mother started their own restaurant. Many questioned why Dr. Medina did not stay with her family’s business. “This may sound funny, but I saw the long hours, I saw the hard work and here I go and become a doctor. My dad wanted me to be an attorney. I was really stuck on if I wanted to do medicine or did I want to be an attorney?”
Medina says she began shadowing a family friend who was an attorney who later became the first Cuban senator in the United States. In addition, Medina says that she did volunteer work within the hospital in the emergency room.
“ When I went to the hospital, I was in the emergency room, I was bilingual and I remember one evening there was a kid that came in from a motorcycle accident. His ankle was snapped in half and I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. These podiatry residents came running into the emergency room and I was translating for them and the patient. I asked to go into the operating room to see what they were going to do and they said sure. I put my scrubs on and I went in. I fell in love!”
Medina was in the family business after high school before deciding to go to medical school at the age of 21. “My family always said they were going to support me in my decision.”
Dr. Medina later received her undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. During her undergrad, Medina recalls working full time in the family restaurant and jewelry store.
She then attended Barry University, receiving her Doctor of Podiatric Medicine in 2003. While at Barry University, she was the recipient of several awards for outstanding achievements in Biomechanics and Orthopaedics as well as in clinical evaluation. She was also involved in many organizations and volunteered much of her time to the local community, where she received various awards as well.
“I was able to shadow people during my early years and that is why today I still teach. That is what got me to where I am today.”
After successfully completing her Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree, Dr. Medina went on to excel in a comprehensive, hands-on, three-year surgical residency program at Kendall Regional Medical Center in Miami, Florida.
Medina says she was later introduced to Orthopaedic Center of South Florida where she became the first female doctor of the practice.
In her free time, Dr. Medina enjoys a wide variety of sports including diving, yoga, cycling and running. She also is actively involved with many local charities, performing volunteer work and offering her time personally and professionally.
As a mentor to students and the youth, Medina says “Practice with your heart. If you are getting into medicine because you want to make money, this not the field for you. If you are doing this, it is because you truly have a calling and you truly want to help. You have to have great heart.”
To learn more about Dr. Medina and Orthpaedic Center of South Florida, You can visit their website at www.ocsfdocs.com.
