Deep breath…
Every once in a while we encounter someone who will change our lives in such a profound way that you know that their life was profound. Last year around this time as our world gathered together to celebrate the season of Thanksgiving, I gathered on zoom with a dear friend of mine who not only changed my life. but every single life that she touched. She was a woman, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a sonographer, a friend, and so many other things, but mostly from what I gathered from the time I knew her, she was an angel. Someone absolutely too good for this earth to hold onto, but who had a purpose to fulfill here, came and did a bad ass job at it, and rode this life until the wheels fell off, or in her case Stage 4 Stomach and EG Junction Cancer (non hereditary).
Angela Huang, RDMS, RVT was a committed woman and if you were a commitment that she prioritized, you were so blessed beyond measure. She was a dedicated mother to her son Jude whom you knew she loved more than life itself. But her role as mom was not how I got to admire this courageous and strong woman, but through her love and dedication to diagnostic medical sonography and the ultrasound profession.
I first met Angela when she started the diagnostic medical sonography program in Dallas college the year after me. As most sonographers can attest, DMS programs are highly competitive and are breeding grounds for greatness in the healthcare industry. But as we are all going through intensive training in diagnostic imaging, we are all also going through our own lives. The first personal interaction where I got to feel Angela’s warmth was with a very simple kiss on my forehead after suffering the loss of my son. I remember feeling hollow as I returned to the lab to see the equipment that is used to detect and confirm the death of the baby and wondering how was I gonna pick that transducer backup when I couldn’t even bare to look at the screen. Without words and without thought, this angel of a woman brought me back to solid ground in the ultrasound lab and readied me for what would essentially be the rest of my career. And although our career paths both took us into completely different directions, our love for ultrasound and its impact in our lives personally and professionally was an incredible conversation that we got to have one year ago and that I cherish to this day.
As this dear woman has departed this earth, we would like to honor her by sharing this incredible conversation about her journey, one year later. Her experience as a sonographer both on the patient and provider side is one that should be honored and shared as it is inspiring on the cellular level. Her words and experience on how Ultrasound shaped her diagnosis and life should be studied and her activism on stomach cancer and the role ultrasound can play in healthcare must be remembered. Her advocation for the work we do for Safety in Sonography was also evident and appreciated. So quickly, we just want to take a moment to acknowledge that silence in sonography does play a role in this industry and it should only be used to honor those who have served in marked ways. Angela Huang accomplished this feat in every area of her life and as we close out the season of Thanksgiving and move toward a new year, it is our profound prayer that the memory and life of this inspiring woman continues to manifest itself through groundbreaking ways that honor her life, her legacy, and her impact in this world.
Angela, thank you for showing us light, we see better now through your lens. Thank you for sharing your warmth, the world feels less cold. Thank you for walking the walk, talking the talk, and mastering both with grace and grit, we want to be like you when we grow up 😉 Thank you for your genius and for sharing it graciously. Thank you for your joy and for drenching us in it that we might smile through tears. Thank you for your BRIGHT smile and for the many you created and captured with your camera along the way. Thank you for your voice, it was strong and mighty and we promise that it will continue to prevail. You cannot and will not be forgotten my friend as only your vessel has gone to rest. You remain always. I love you. I honor you and I miss you. See you soon lady, xoxo!
With awe and admiration,
Joanna Hall