Page 41 - Sarita Maybin

Our 10th Anniversary Women of Distinction

Dr. Katherine Ludington,

CARD I O L O GIS T ,

Gets To The Heart Of The Matter

By Janice Carter Booth

He took Katherine under his wing, rule, and Katherine’s mother, Nancy,
sharing all his knowledge with her. was a family doctor, who made house
Katherine was utterly fascinated by all calls. The government told her mom
the intricacies of the heart; therefore that she had to come to work in the
having a change of heart, she went State Hospital, and if she didn’t her
from Pediatrics to Cardiology. children, Ingrid, four, and Katherine,
In 2000, Katherine finished nine, would no longer be allowed to
her residency at Stanford Hospital, attend school. It became clear to her
moving that same year to San Diego parents that this could not happen.
Photo by Deanna Haala with a new addition to the family, Nancy and Joseph packed a couple
three week old, lovely baby Sarah, of bags, and with just the clothes on
R. KATHERINE LUDINGTON, (who by the way only 17, started at their back, declared they were going
Dnot only gets to the heart of the Stanford just this fall). On a personal on a vacation. Of course, they were
matter, but does it with kindness, note, I had the pleasure of speaking not allowed to go to just any coun-
caring, superb knowledge, and un- with Sarah when she was helping out try; they could only visit Communist
derstanding. Escaping Hungary with at her mother’s office, and when her countries. So, they went to Czecho-
her family at nine years of age gave Mom came up in conversation, she slovakia and Poland. Then some-
her a truly unique perspective on life. said to me. “My Mom is my Hero!” where along this so-called ‘vacation’
A complete realization on just how I could feel tears well up in my eyes,
fragile and at the same time resilient because what teenage daughter, in a Photo Courtesy of Dr. Ludington
we humans can be in dire situations. very sincere reverent way, says this
Dr. Ludington has quite a lengthy about her Mom?
list of degrees. In 1993 she gradu- In 2003, Dr. Ludington started
ated from Stanford University with Fellowship Training in Cardiology at
Honors in Biology and Psychology. UCSD. Then finished her Fellowship
While she was at Stanford, she met a Training in Cardiovascular Diseases,
wonderful man, who was a student with Honors, at UCSF. Immediately
there as well. When attending UC after, she began working at Scripps
San Francisco, Greg not only moved Green Hospital as a full-time Cardi-
with Katherine but supported her ologist until 2007, when she started
in all ways, even financially, during her own practice in Encinitas, called
this very difficult time of medical North Coast Cardiology. Her prac-
training. In 1997 she graduated from tice has grown so much over the past
UCSF medical school and married ten years; she has not only taken
her extraordinary, supportive man, on another female Cardiologist but
Greg. also, expanded to a second office in
During her stint at UCSF, she Oceanside.
shared with me how she met a won- Now for the story of Katherine’s
derful, compassionate, old fashion, family fleeing from Hungary. In 1980,
Cardiologist, John Hutchinson. Hungary was still under Communist

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