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It was nearly 20 years ago, but John A. Burns School of Medicine alumnus Dr. Ryan Sato can still clearly remember the day he met his wife, Chelsi. It was during his third year of medical school and he had just begun his family medicine rotation with a program that was in its infancy, the school’s Hawaiʻi Houseless Outreach and Medical Education Project.
Inside of the H.O.M.E. Handivan is where he spotted his future wife. Chelsi had a heart of serving and was getting her masters in public health at UH Mānoa. She had been a volunteer with the Hawaiʻi H.O.M.E. Project for a few years and had met many medical students over at JABSOM. Ryan, however, was the first person to follow up his questions at the clinic by asking for her phone number. And they hit it off: At the beginning of November, they went on their first date. By the end of December, they were flying hand-in-hand, en-route to Hilo, Hawaiʻi to spend the winter holidays with Chelsi’s family.
Seeing the Satos interact, grinning cheek to cheek, emanating such warmth and mutual respect for each other– from afar they seem like newlyweds when they’ve actually been together for almost as long as the Hawaiʻi H.O.M.E. Project has been around.
“It feels like it’s been so long,” Chelsi said. “ I remember everyone asking ‘how long have you been together?’ It feels like it’s been more than 20 years, but actually it's coming up to 20 years soon.”
To put it simply, they are partners in every way: husband and wife, parents to young children and working together at his dermatology practice.
“Just happy that we both view things very similarly, as far as us being a team together,” Ryan said. “Even though there may be speed bumps and hardships, you know, it helps that we're still driven to accomplish the same goals,” he added.
Making it work, to and fro
Their whirlwind romance quickly became a longtime commitment as Chelsi chose to support him throughout his residency training after he graduated from JABSOM. Together, they moved across the nation and back again, from Hawaiʻi to California, then to New York and Oregon all in a span of four years.
While he spent long hours during the intern years in Los Angeles, Chelsi completed nursing school prerequisites. Then they moved for his dermatology residency in Buffalo. Though snowy winters seemed especially frigid for two Hawaiʻi locals, it was in those days when it was just the two of them, that they knew they could weather the storms as long as they had each other.
Just as Chelsi was posed to begin nursing school in Buffalo, Ryan was unexpectedly rerouted to Portland to complete his residency. Without hesitation, Chelsi rerouted her plans as well, staying by his side as they moved to the opposite coast.
“She sacrificed quite a bit and was very understanding in my pursuit of medicine,” Ryan said. “It was really nice that Chelsi was so supportive in coming with me and helping me throughout all of that and getting through residency… especially dermatology because there’s no residency here in Hawaiʻi, so you have to go away (out-of-state).”
Once residency was done, they made the move back home. Ryan and Chelsi knew they wanted to come back to be among family, to start their own family and to give back to the communities they grew up in.
Looking back on it now, “it was exciting– an adventure living in different places. But we’re definitely grateful to be back in Hawaiʻi,” Chelsi said.
On their eight-year anniversary, they came home from a nostalgic dinner at the same place where they had their first date. But the most important part of the night unfolded in the living room: a proposal!
The simplicity spoke volumes where, “after all this travel and working, now that we had our own house and we started our own practice– it was very intentional that I wanted to propose at home.” And they were married a year later, also on their anniversary.
Working together, working to serve
In addition to establishing Sato General & Cosmetic Dermatology at Kuakini, the Satos also opened up a second location to help to meet the needs of the underserved community on Hawaiʻi Island. Being born and raised on Oʻahu, Ryan is grateful for the broad experiences in healthcare he has gained through practicing on both islands.
“Before you even walk in the door, patients in Hilo are already thanking you just for being there. It’s a very different experience and it’s nice to try to serve that need out there and I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t marry Chelsi. I don’t think I had ever been to Hilo before knowing Chelsi,” he said.
From the beginning, the two invested their time and energies into both practices, working in tandem to reach their goals, with Ryan caring for patients and Chelsi helping out wherever she could, as a medical assistant, administrative assistant and office manager. In addition to their successful work dynamic, the Satos are a team when it comes to parenthood. Every year, they participate in the H.O.M.E. Project Angel Tree with their kids, to hopefully teach them about the spirit of giving.
Coming home, full circle
When JABSOM’s H.O.M.E. Project celebrated its 20th Anniversary at Pearl At Kalauao last year, the Satos were there to reminisce with friends and to show their support to the program that brought them together. After all, if it wasnʻt for the H.O.M.E. Project, they may have never crossed paths.
“I see myself as very lucky and fortunate that I met Chelsi here at JABSOM and through the H.O.M.E. Project,” Ryan said. ”I thought I was at JABSOM for medical school but really– it just set everything else up in my life. I met my wife here, I was always going to move back here (Hawaiʻi) and all the connections from the school. I'm just so very happy and blessed.”
One of their most memorable dates was early on in their courtship. Ryan was working an overnight shift during a general surgery rotation at the Kuakini Medical Center. After a night of volunteering at an event, Chelsi brought him a late dinner.
Ryan recalls, “it was in the basement of Kuakini, it was around 9PM, no one else was there. But it was just a really special moment.” With his eyes locked on to his wife, he says, “in hindsight, to realize that you knew this was going to be the grind, that this would be a lot of time commitment and you were okay with that– that really stood out to me.”
He thinks about that very moment whenever he walks by the spot where they sat that night, which happens fairly often, since their Oʻahu practice is located at Kuakini.
Looking over at his wife, Ryan says, “life, it feels very full circle, sometimes.” Chelsi nods in agreement, “yeah, it’s amazing.”
