Undocumented

In the darkness of the early hours of October 27, 1978, Harold Fernandez and his brother huddled in the bow of a small motorboat fighting against the ravages of the Atlantic Ocean. The darkness, the solitude of the night, and the ferocious movements of the boat were too much for them to handle. They thought that they would die. Harold prayed and begged the lord for another day so that he could see his parents.

Once a safe and humble community, Barrio Antioquia - a town in Medelin, Colombia - was now plagued by unemployment and overrun by gangs, drug mules, and hired assassins. Realizing Medelin held no future for their family, Harold Fernandez's parents travelled illegally to New York to work in sweatshops, leaving their sons behind temporarily. Years later, Harold and his brother risked their lives for the opportunity to join their parents in America.

Harold's epic journey brought him from the turbulent violence and drug wars of Medellin to the charm and beauty of the mythic classrooms, libraries and laboratories of Princeton University and Harvard Medical School. On his way to fulfilling his childhood dream of helping others, Harold endured the struggles of living in the margins as an undocumented immigrant.

Harold A. Fernandez, MD is a leading heart surgeon in New York, and the chief of cardiovascular surgery at Southside Hospital and the system director of heart failure surgery for Northwell Health. He completed his college education at Princeton University and medical training at Harvard Medical School and MIT followed by residency and fellowship at NYU Medical Center.