Today I Am Wearing Orange

Today, June 2, 2017 is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Like millions of Americans, today I will wear orange to show my support for a cause that is critical to the survival of present and future generations. Today I will reflect on what more we can do to increase awareness of a terrible tragedy that our country faces. For those of us that work at Ryder Trauma Center, June 2nd is a day that has a special meaning, as we have witnessed first-hand the effects that gun violence has on our community. Today I will be thinking about the countless patients that enter the doors of our trauma center, and how their lives were forever changed once they became victims of gun violence. I will think about their agony, their fears, and their pain. Today I will remember their families – those who are left behind in tears – after I tell them that their son, mother, or loved one is either dead or has been irreparably disabled.

Today, as I prepare to receive yet another patient, I will reflect on the tragic reality of our society, one in which people are falling victim to gun violence in the streets, in their homes, in their classrooms, in theaters, and in clubs. This is a society that refuses to acknowledge that gun violence is a public health problem that no other developed country on earth shares.

Today, at Ryder Trauma Center, we will be ready, as we have been for all of the past 25 years, to provide the best care that a victim of gun violence can receive. But this alone is not enough. Every one of us, from our neighbors to our leaders, from the local to the federal level, must understand that we are losing an entire generation of Americans to violence, and that we must act now to end this disease.

Today I will wear orange to honor the plight of these victims, the suffering of the survivors, and the grief of their families. I will wear orange as I hear the clamor of an entire country that must move past ideological and political differences and start a conversation about the type of country we want to leave to our children.

Today I join the Wear Orange movement, to tell the rest of the nation that we are not doing enough to bring an end to gun violence.  #WearOrange

Gabriel Ruiz, MD, FACS
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Trauma Surgery and Surgical Critical Care
Jackson Memorial Ryder Trauma Center
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine