Dr. Allen and Aixa Alvarez, UAG class of 2003, recently moved to the City of San Antonio, where they both practice medicine. NSIDE Magazine, a well know magazine in the City, wrote an article about them, in their latest issue.

One of the more unique physician couples in San Antonio medicine, the hemisphere-hopping Alvarezes took up residence last summer on the lure of a fellowship for husband Dr. Allen Alvarez. “What brought us was the fellowship in laparoscopic surgery with Dr. Morris Franklin, which I am just now completing," Allen said.

It was an opportunity Allen couldn't pass up. He has since opted to stay with Franklin and Glass and be part of their plan to continue Southeast Surgical Associates; this surgery clinic shares offices with the TEI, but has a broader mission.

Allen first came to San Antonio in 1989 to get his nursing degree from the University of the Incarnate Word. He also completed his pre-requisites for medical school before traveling to paradise locations such as Hawaii and Miami to practice nursing. He then went to medical school in Mexico at the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara. That is where he met his future wife, Dr. Aixa Alvarez. Aixa earned a Bachelor of Science degree in athletic training/ sports medicine from Russell Sage College.

Growing up, she excelled in track and field, and other sports. She recently completed her first sprint triathlon in Austin. It involved a half-mile swim, 12-mile bicycle ride and 5-kilometer run. "I think staying in athletics helps me relate to my patients more. With rehab medicine, there’s a lot of potential for growth," Aixa said. Allen didn’t stop his travels when he met Aixa in Guadalajara. They traveled together to the state of Chiapas in southernmost Mexico, for instance.

"We treated the indigenous Mayans, mostly in obstetrics," Allen said. "That was a different kind of medicine. You are thrown into the wild; they just need all the help they can get."

As opposed to medical schools in the United States where students essentially shadow other doctors, the emphasis at the medical school in Guadalajara is hands-on training, the Alvarezes said. "You learn to diagnose and treat with very little resources," Aixa said.

Half of their fourth year was in Chiapas. The other half was in La Paz, Baja California Sur. "Basically, it was a lot of sunshine and beach – a true honeymoon for us in between the long hours training in the ICU," said Allen, waxing nostalgic about La Paz.

Upon completing medical school, the Alvarezes moved to New York City to perform their residencies – Allen in general surgery and Aixa in physical medicine and rehabilitation – at St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan in Greenwich Village. It was the first time for both of them living in New York City.

In considering San Antonio as their next destination, the Alvarezes had thoughts of settling down for an extended stay somewhere. They have two daughters: Aleina is 2 years old, and Ailani is 5 months.

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