Dr. Atiemo: 10 Interesting Things About Me!

Dr. Atiemo: 10 Interesting Things About Me!

1. I come from a family of healthcare professionals. My father is an OB/GYN. My oldest sister is a nurse and my older brother is a female pelvic reconstructive surgeon. My younger sister is an internal medicine physician and my younger brother is an orthopedic surgeon.  So yes, we will be starting a multispecialty clinic any day now.
2. I’m fascinated by love, marriage, and relationships. I strongly believe that our relationships impact our health. Have you heard of Broken Heart Syndrome?
3. I’m a family man. I’m married with two young kids at home so when I’m not busy with work I enjoy being at home (or taking the kids to soccer games, swimming lessons, horse riding etc.). 
4. No my last name isn’t Italian. I was born in Accra, Ghana. I came to the United States when I was about 12 months old so I don’t have an accent. Unfortunately I don’t speak, Twi, my native tongue. 
5. According to my wife, I’m a dreamer. I have dreams of becoming a fitness competitor (and underwear model :)). I’ve always enjoyed lifting weights. I’ve gotten a bit away from it as I’ve gotten busier with my professional life however I’d like to get back to spending more time in the gym and maybe even doing a competition at some point.
6. I’m a huge fan of superhero movies (pretty much anything Marvel puts out). I guess because they take me back to being a kid again. And because it’s fun to imagine having amazing powers and saving the world.
7. I love music and dance. One of my favorite ways to start the weekend is to turn on some music (i.e. Bruno Mars, Sean Paul, Calvin Harris) and dance with my kids. My dance moves are often inspired by MC Hammer (…okay, just kidding about Hammer).
8. One of my favorite books is Gretchen Rubin’s “The Happiness Project”. It’s fun to think about all the different ways we can construct happiness for ourselves.
9. I’m a fan of healthy eating (ie Mediterranean diet) but I really enjoy pizza … pretty much any kind of pizza . There’s no such thing as bad pizza.  What’s so bad about pizza anyway? Everything in moderation right?
10. I’ve developed a growing interest in minimalism. There is a very good documentary on this movement in Netflix for anyone who’s interested. I can think of several reasons why for many of us, less is truly more.