Army Veteran Timothy Sanders travels over two hours each way to get his health care at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas. While he knows there are VA clinics closer to his home and he dreads Houston’s big-city traffic, his special connection with his VA cardiologist, Dr. Steve Antoine, makes the trip worthwhile.
As a young Army infantry soldier in the 1990s, Sanders deployed to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with the 82nd Airborne Division to provide aid and protection. He vividly remembers meeting with local children, often giving them snacks and a kind word as they passed by.
“I’ve always wondered what happened to the smiling little kids we interacted with on our humanitarian mission,” he said. “They really touched my heart.”
Dr. Steve Antoine was one of those kids. Growing up in Haiti, Antoine says he always had a special respect for the military and recalls meeting the friendly American soldiers as a middle school student.
Kindness of soldiers
“Talking with them helped me practice my English,” he said. “Their kindness made a lasting impression on me.”
When Antoine moved to the U.S. as a high school senior, his passion for math and physics guided him toward a medical career.
Today, he is a board-certified specialist in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular nuclear medicine and echocardiography. He is also a professor of medicine–cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine.
One of his first patients at Houston VA was Timothy Sanders.
“I enjoy learning about Veterans’ stories and the incredible things they’ve accomplished,” Antoine said. “While talking with Mr. Sanders during a follow-up appointment, we discovered that we were both in the same place at the same time and likely interacted when I was a young boy in Haiti. I remember the kindness of the soldiers there, and I’m honored to be in a position today to give back by being his cardiologist.”
After leaving the military, Sanders moved back to Texas and worked in the oilfields. He first met Dr. Antoine at the Houston VA when he sought care for breathing issues. He said he was immediately struck by Antoine’s caring and professional demeanor. Later, both men were astonished to uncover their shared history.
“When we realized our connection, we sat in silence for several minutes, lost in our memories,” Sanders said. “Dr. Antoine told me that the soldiers he met in Haiti inspired him to come to our country and ultimately care for Veterans. It was incredibly humbling to know we made that kind of a difference in his life.”
As Sanders prepares for a potential heart transplant in the coming months, Antoine pledges to be there with him every step of the way.
“The bond I share with Mr. Sanders transcends the typical patient-doctor relationship; it’s really about the power of compassion and resilience,” Antoine said. “It’s a privilege to repay just a fraction of the genuine kindness he showed during my childhood by providing him with exceptional health care at the Houston VA.”
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Good story. Worth reading.
Great story. I love to read/hear stories about humans caring for one another.
What a wonderful story!
I have been using the VA for my healthcare for over 13 years now and not once has a provider asked me about my Army service. Nice to hear Mr. Sanders’s and Dr. Antoine’s story and connection.
I was in Haiti, 1994/95. I did not have a story like this one, but I did have a good deal of interaction with many of the people there, mainly the kids. What struck me as interesting while I was there was the disconnect between he people of various segments of the Haitian Society. On one hand there were the police who were desperately seeking to make their national elections come off without violence, then there were the Bureaucrats who were more concerned with the outcome of the national election. Last but not least were the dozens of Banana and Maize farmers who’s main concern in life, was getting the crops seeded and harvested.
Outstanding; do unto others as you would have them do to You!
I was there also in 1994 one year before I retired from the Army. I will never forget the man I helped
while I was in Port au Prince. He approached me one day and told me he was looking for work. I
was the Division G-4 with 10 Mountain Division and was able to get him a job, which then turned
into a more important job as an interpreter.