Ask the Specialist: Meet Dr. Mustapha - Jihad Mustapha, MD

http://www.ask-the-specialist.com/ I'm Jihad Mustapha. My name is actually unique, especially in this day and age. So, if you look at my name, it's translated as "Holy War". Jihad- holy war. For those who know the true meaning of my last name, which can actually mean pure. So, it's translated completely into "Pure Holy War". So, I don't know what my parents were thinking at the time to give me such a name. If they only knew what misery they're going to put me through at this point. So, think about traveling around the country with this name today. It's actually fun for me, I enjoy it, because every time I go through the airport, I get to visit with the FBI here and there. They're funny occasionally, sometimes they're not. Everything I have gets double and triple checked. One time, I had a prototype with me, a device that removes material from the body. It looks like a gun. And, they actually took it away, even though I had the patent application for that invention for support, they still thought it has to be taken away. But, in general though, my life in America has been an amazing trip. I came here when I was 16 years old. My plane landed in JFK. I spoke fluently French at the time, and Arabic. And, no one knew I was here. So, I got out of the plane because there was war in my country and I had to leave, so my parents were separated from me. And, when I got out of the plane, just looking around, and everything was going so fast for me trying to comprehend it. Luckily, I heard a bunch of girls speaking French, and I went up to them and spoke to them French, and I explained to them the situation. I just landed here, and I have a phone number for a family member. If you can, help me dial it. So, they did. They dialed the number for me. And, my family member were kind of shocked that I'm actually in New York. So, they made a deal with the French speaking personnel to where to take me and park me until they come pick me up. They took me there and put me under a bus place, where you wait for the bus, and said don't move. So, I was there for 2 hours. In the meantime, people come and talk to me and look at me funny. And, not knowing what the heck they were saying, God knows what. I was picked- taken home, and explained the situation what was going on in Lebanon and why I am here. I had $80 with me at the time. And, my dream was to come here and become nuclear physicist. Physics has been my passion since I was a kid. Next thing I know, I was selling flowers and umbrellas the second day, on Broadway and 20th in Manhattan. The first word I learned, actually, was "One Peso". One dollar, one peso, because there was more Spanish people in the area where I was working. And actually, I made good money the first day of work- 50 cents per umbrella. And the first meal was a Big Mac at McDonalds. So, I made enough money from selling umbrellas and flowers that I enrolled myself in school immediately to learn how to speak English, because I did not know how to speak any English. It didn't take me long to learn how to speak English, because a lot of the words were French words anyway, just translate them. And, decided to go to school to study physics, realized that I've had more physics than anyone in college, so I started tutoring in physics. My second job was basically to clean bathrooms at Big Boy. That didn't go too well. Then, I started doing homeworks for the waitresses there, and helped them with their homework. Then, one of them said why don't you tutor? So, I started tutoring physics making $9 an hour, and I was on top of the world. Then, started studying physics and I learned quickly that doing nuclear physics with my name is not going to go well. Then, I said fine, and did medicine. I knew I was going to be a cardiologist basically as soon as I took Physiology. And, invention has always been in my blood from back then. Went through that, through Med School, fellowship. And, in my fellowship, had so many different ideas, and implications. And, finished my fellowship, and now I'm here.