El Paso native to run in Boston Marathon to honor Boston doctor

There are 17 El Pasoans on this year’s entry list for the Boston Marathon, which will take place on Monday, April 17.

But there’s one El Paso native for whom the marathon means everything.

Dr. Nirma Bustamante was born and raised in El Paso, but has lived recently in Boston. She finished her Emergency Medicine Residency at Harvard and then became the International Emergency Medicine Fellow at the prestigious Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

On January 20, 2015, Brigham and Women’s Hospital witnessed a nightmare, when beloved surgeon Dr. Michael J. Davidson was shot and killed by gunman.

Dr. Bustamante was part of the team that responded when Davidson was shot, but they were unable to save his life.

Two years later and the memory still hasn’t left Dr. Bustamante.

Now, she’s planning to honor Dr. Davidson by running in the Boston Marathon and raising funds to contribute to the Dr. Michael J. Davidson, MD Fellowship Fund.

“I think my life and obviously seeing the life that Dr. Davidson lived, I think I’ve learned that you have to live in the present and to enjoy and focus on what’s in front of you,” said Dr. Bustamante in an interview over Skype.

As of Friday, Dr. Bustamante was less than $600 away from her goal of $8,000 to donate to the fund. (For more information on how to contribute to the campaign, click here).

It hasn’t been easy balancing a fellowship and training for a marathon. There have certainly been plenty of sleepless nights along the way. After all, Dr. Bustamante was not an avid runner to begin with. Training was time-consuming, but worth it, she says.

“I really don’t mind having to sleep a little bit less or a work a little bit harder sometimes to be able to do that,” said Dr. Bustamante.

Her fellowship has taken her all over the world – to Haiti, Jamaica, and Madagascar. But she’s still found the time to train in each of those locations.

Dr. Bustamante added that the story of Dr. Davidson has inspired her not to take a single moment of her life for granted, no matter how difficult it gets.

“So, all this and the work that I do, and even having the responsibility and workload that comes with the fellowship is kind of honestly just cherries on top, because being here has been an incredible dream that I’m able to live every day,” she said.