Who I'm Looking Up To: Dr. Michael Ain

October is dwarfism awareness month. In years past I had posted every day on my Instagram account, speaking a simple truth about being a little person in an average sized world. Now, with this blog as my platform, I do that on a weekly basis (or at least try to). So, rather than post everyday, as a part of my “Who I’m Looking Up To” series, I wanted to highlight notable and incredible little people who have made a big impact. The first is Dr. Michael Ain. 

Dr. Ain is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He is one of a few dwarf doctors and, perhaps, the only orthopedic surgeon in the country that is a little person. He has never let his short stature stop him from accomplishing his dreams, although the world around him tried. 

He applied to 20 to 30 medical schools, stating on each application that he was a little person and that “Because I am, it shaped me.” Those interviewing him during the admissions process expressed their doubts, believing he would not be able to reach his patient’s bedside or that he would not be strong enough or gain the respect of his patients and peers. Dr. Ain had a response to all their doubts yet the rejection letters piled up. In fact, he was rejected from every medical school he applied to. 

Not one to give up, he went back to Brown University, his alma mater, to take additional advanced science courses (aced them), continued his research and was published. He then applied to another 20 medical schools, including a few that had rejected him before, and, after again receiving rejection after rejection, was accepted by Albany Medical College. At Albany he decided he wanted to become a pediatric neurosurgeon and, like before, was rejected by the 14 residency programs he applied to. He then applied to approximately 10 general surgery programs and, one by one, they turned him down. Their reason for rejection? None of the programs thought a little person could physically do the job or earn respect. Mind you, this was after he had proven himself in med school after facing similar reasons for rejection. 

After completing a year of a pediatrics residency in California, and still determined to become a surgeon, Dr. Michael Ain applied to two orthopedic surgery residencies who again rejected him. After being discouraged from applying to a third, the chairman of Albany Medical College told him, “If your record is as good as everybody else's, you'll get in. It doesn't matter whether you're 4 feet 3 inches or 6 feet 3 inches. We will take you,”...and they did. 

Orthopedics is one of the more physically demanding specialties and Dr. Ain proved he was up to the challenge, successfully completing his five year residency. Interestingly, Dr. Ain did not want to specialize in bone disorders such as achondroplasia (He wanted to focus on the hands and joints). It wasn’t until he overheard a story where he learned he had unknowingly instilled hope to a family whose young daughter had achondroplasia that he decided to change course. He applied for an orthopedic surgery fellowship at Johns Hopkins whose program, at the time, was expanding to focus on skeletal dysplasias. He got in and is now regarded as one of the top doctors in his field. 

I met Dr. Ain as a patient back in 2007. I was experiencing constant ankle pain and my doctor was unsure as to whether surgery was the answer and recommended that we see him. I can’t remember if I was told ahead of time that Dr. Ain was a little person, but I do remember feeling incredibly impressed and proud that someone like me overcame so much (I didn’t realize exactly how much) to become a world-renowned doctor. It made me realize that despite physical and social limitations, I can be unstoppable.