MEMBERS
A one-year-old Dr . Weeks
38 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
( continued from page 37 )
Dr . Weeks re-examined his goal of becoming a physician . “ I told him I wanted to be a doctor but I wasn ’ t sure I had what it takes . Professor Weiser said , ‘ You ’ re doing good work here , you should go to medical school ,’ and offered to write me a letter of recommendation . To give you a sense of my mindset , I was born in 1957 . I grew up in segregated neighborhoods . If you weren ’ t around highly successful people , you could get the sense that those careers were not for you . So , Dr . Weiser ’ s words made a big difference to me . Here ’ s a man who knows what he ’ s talking about , and he says I can be a physician .”
With that , Dr . Weeks kicked his career into overdrive . After graduation , he returned to Long Island for a year , passing the MCAT and applying to medical schools . Thanks to a few unique opportunities and good fortune , Dr . Weeks found himself returning to Lexington to attend the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in 1980 . He stayed with aunts and uncles through his four years of medical school , enjoying homecooked meals and time with family . In class , he discovered a love for obstetrics and gynecology .
“ The first time you ’ re in the room for a birth is , of course , really scary ,” Dr . Weeks laughed . “ It ’ s a new experience , and babies are a lot slipperier than you think . But , after the birth , the mom and dad are happy . Then grandparents , aunts and uncles are there . You realize what this child represents for the whole family . As the child grows up , the hopes and dreams of the family go with it .”
As medical school neared completion , Dr . Weeks applied for military scholarships with both the Navy and Army . He was accepted and soon packed his bags for the Naval Hospital in Oakland , Calif .
After a year-long internship , residents are typically deployed for what is called an “ operational tour .” For Dr . Weeks , that meant time aboard the USS Ogden sailing through the Pacific . “ I flew out to the Philippines and was stationed there for a couple weeks , then sailed towards Hawaii and back to the US . On the ship were mostly healthy people . Most of what you do is basic medicine , public health , and making sure vaccinations are up to date . That can be difficult , because people are sometimes determined to not be vaccinated ,” Dr . Weeks said .
He ’ d met the woman who would one day be his wife , but Dr . Weeks didn ’ t yet know it . Brenda was a nurse at the Navy Hospital Oakland . They went on a date and got along , but he was shipping off .
“ Brenda had gotten to Oakland a year ahead of me . She ’ d lived in
Dr . Weeks , his sister ( Nanette ), mom ( Edna ) and brother ( Mervyn ).
Houston and nursed her dad while he was ill . My sense was that she was emotionally exhausted and decided to join the Navy . I found myself thinking about her a lot ,” Dr . Weeks reminisced . “ I ended up proposing halfway through my year aboard the ship .”
In his naval uniform .
They were married and stayed in Oakland while Dr . Weeks completed his residency . Their first son , Dexter , arrived as they were packing for his next assignment : Okinawa , Japan . Stationed at Camp Lester and working at the Naval Hospital Okinawa , Dr . Weeks worked as a general gynecologist on base . Brenda and Dexter followed three months later .
After two years abroad , they came back to the US so that Dr . Weeks could enter a Maternal / Fetal Medicine fellowship at UC Irvine and Long Beach Memorial Hospital . “ I wanted a better command of ultrasounds and looking for fetal birth defects ,” he said . “ We didn ’ t do much of that during my time as a resident . Premature birth was another topic I wanted to pursue .”
Dr . Weeks ’ next plan was to move back to Lexington to practice and teach . “ I had done well there . It was home , and I knew I didn ’ t want to raise kids in a big city ,” he said . However , upon interviewing at both UK and UofL , “ I found myself liking Louisville more . Their Maternal-Fetal Medicine department was much stronger , and it had a bit more of a metropolitan feel .” Dr . Weeks