Dr. Vivian Bucay instantly knew they were meant for each other upon meeting her future husband on a blind date. But Dr. Moises Bucay wasn’t as certain about the future until a fortune teller looked into her crystal ball and set things straight one moonlit night in Miami.
“That fortune teller said I’d be a total schmuck not to marry Vivian,” Dr. Moises, a San Antonio cardiologist, recalls with a laugh.
Thus the budding romance between heart doctor and dermatologist blossomed into a bridal bouquet two decades ago. And the subsequent years have underscored the couple’s compatibility and the fortune teller’s wisdom.The Bucays seem as well suited as any two people could be, with an obvious love for each other, their three teenage daughters and demanding professions.
Dr. Vivian heads a dermatology practice in the Monte Vista District, while Dr. Moises is affiliated with the Cardiology Clinic of San Antonio in the Medical Center. Speaking with either spouse, you’ll soon learn they respect each other’s abilities and talents tremendously. And though their lines of expertise are different, he saves patients’ lives, she saves patients’ faces, they understand the pressures and rewards of medicine and each is there for the other when difficult cases need to be discussed or moral support is necessary.
However, “doctor talk,” they call it, seldom goes on at home. Conversations usually revolve around family–related subjects. As for professional jealousy, the spouses contend there simply isn’t any. Each cheers for the other’s achievements. The relationship is all about admiration and pride.
“I admire Vivian’s talent, drive, enthusiasm and sunny disposition,” he says. “He’s a brilliant doctor, delightfully funny sometimes, and very devoted to our family,” she expresses with pride. But this doesn’t connote it’s always smooth sailing. After all, medicine is a stressful profession and, in their case, the stress is multiplied by two busy physicians on board, along with three busy daughters. So, what keeps their boat afloat?
Dr. Vivian believes simple things like sitting down to dinner together at least four times a week and getting away on vacations as a family where they can really relate and relax make life’s trip easier. Her husband agrees.
“We’re always trying to make things work alittle better. Our marriage is a work in progress,” Dr. Moises points out. “My wife and I take our responsibility to each other and the girls very seriously. But at the end of the day, you know, it’s the sincere friendship we have and the pleasure in each other’s company that counts.”
Of course, laughter counts, too. It rings out joyfully in their home. And Dr. Vivian firmly believes facing adversity sunny side up can lighten the darkest day. In her recent battle against an aggressive form of melanoma, she proved this theory. Dr. Ronald Drengler, the board-certified medical oncologist who handled her case, credits her remarkable recovery to an optimistic attitude and the unwillingness to let cancer take over her life.
“Vivian is a positive thinker and a tremendous fighter,” Drengler says. “So far, it has paid off. The melanoma remains in complete remission.” Deeply concerned about the growing incidence of the disease that has touched her personally, Dr. Vivian has become a crusader for increased caution and care. She urges people to be vigilant and get regular medical checkups.
“You can never be too careful when your health is concerned,” she says.
One of the greatest threats to health today, in her opinion: salons and spas offering treatments without adequate knowledge and expertise. Frequently individuals come to her clinic hoping to reverse the ill effects of botched Botox and other beauty enhancers undertaken in unqualified places. Sometimes situations can be corrected or at least improved. But, sadly, sometimes they cannot.
She emphasizes it’s far better to get things done right at a reputable place in the beginning than to try to mop up the damage. Botox, line fills, lipo and such can be wonderful, but they need to be administered by thoroughly trained medical professionals who understand the products and know what they’re doing. At Dr. Vivian’s clinic, safety is a top priority, and beauty and health go hand in hand. These things are emphasized when, as a clinical assistant professor with the University of Texas Health Science Center, she trains young interns in dermatology.
“We always have interns here, most recently two from Mexico,” notes Elizabeth Leyendecker, who does marketing and PR for the clinic. “Dr. Bucay is a wonderful teacher and an inspiration.”
When she was even younger than her college–age interns, Vivian Wasserteil Bucay was inspired by a film about plastic surgery. She eventually opted to enter the less invasive area of dermatology, a medical specialty involving skin, hair and nails. While studying at Baylor College of Medicine, she began dating Dr. Moises, who was serving his residency. She went on to complete her education at the University of Miami and the couple happily discovered they shared common interests, including an appreciation for Hispanic art and culture (he was born and raised in Mexico).
They became engaged on the phone. Then the fortune teller, wise in the ways of the heart, sealed the deal.
The two physicians practiced in Mexico City for a while, relocating to her native city of San Antonio about 10 years ago. Active in the local Jewish community, they devote time to worthy charities. Along with family life and medical work, these things keep days full and often overflowing. But the satisfactions are great, especially when it comes to the challenges of parenthood.
So, the question remains, will Yamile, 18; Daniela, 16, and Gabriela, 14, carry on the family’s medical tradition?
“There are no indications of that now,” Dr. Moises says, “We would never try to dictate the direction of our daughters’ lives.”
The Bucays believe young people should pursue their own passions and dreams, just as they have done as a couple, in the past and plan to do in the future.
