The question is posed in television shows and movies all the time. What if you missed the morning train? What if you took a different route to work? What would happen if you had to take a different flight? For WVSOM graduate Dorothy Faye Feliciano Bestoyong, D.O., one flight could’ve meant the difference between one life and another.
Bestoyong was an immigrant arriving in the U.S. on one of the last planes allowed to land in San Francisco — on Sept. 11, 2001, a day that is now infamous for four terrorist attacks against the U.S. Bestoyong was just 9 years old at the time and was unaware of the events unfolding while her family was 36,000 feet in the air.
“We had no idea that was happening and didn’t expect any of that, which I believe no one could have expected,” she recalled. “My family and all the passengers in that plane have a different point of view, I’m sure. We were flying in the air as opposed to watching the events unfold on television and in the news. It was very surreal, and I still think about how life could have turned out very differently.”
When Bestoyong and her family deplaned, she said she noticed something different about the airport upon their arrival.
“The airport was not full of its usual hustle and bustle and we were escorted to a shuttle bus that took us to a nearby hotel because the airport was shutting down,” she said. “From the hotel, we were picked up by our family members so that we could stay with them.”
Bestoyong was born in Manila, Philippines, where she lived until she was 7. Her parents planned to complete missionary work in Japan for two and a half years, so Bestoyong and her sister moved with them to Saitama-ken. After their work was complete, her parents decided to immigrate to the U.S., with her father’s side of the family living in the San Francisco Bay area and her mother’s side of the family living in Northeast Florida.
Had her family been on a different airplane, or flown on a later date, her life may have turned out much differently. Bestoyong said she understands how that experience shaped her journey.
“I definitely live life with a gratefulness for all the opportunities presented to me. I have continually learned to not take things for granted,” she said. “It also shows me that everyone has their own unique journey and that everything happens for a reason. This experience as an immigrant, but also as someone who has been impacted by a major event in our country’s history, has made me a more resilient individual and gives me confidence that we can accomplish more than we can imagine.”
Bestoyong’s family lived in San Francisco until she was 16 years old. They then moved to her current hometown of Jacksonville, Fla., where she attended undergraduate school at the University of North Florida, majoring in biology with a concentration in biomedical sciences.
She knew in high school that she wanted to become a physician after listening to a missionary speak about his mission trip alongside a doctor who handled a complicated pregnancy. The story and its positive outcome — the baby was safely delivered, and the mother had a full recovery — stuck with Bestoyong throughout medical school. She is completing her obstetrics and gynecology residency at UCF/Osceola Regional Medical Center in Kissimmee, Fla.
“I wanted to be a doctor because I wanted to empower and be a positive influence on people and my community in terms of their health and wellness,” she said. “Being able to attend an osteopathic school taught me that not only could that include physical health but also your mind and spirit.”
Bestoyong and her family’s timing in immigrating to the U.S. couldn’t have been more fortuitous. One flight created a ripple effect that allowed her to attend an American college, complete her medical education and graduate as a physician who will provide care to women and their babies.