Louisville Medicine Volume 67, Issue 6 | Page 42

BUSINESS CARD GALLERY Brenda Wallace, CPA, CMPE 800.880.7800 ext. 1347 [email protected] ADVERTISERS’ INDEX Harding Shymanski & Co PSC 28, 40 www.hsccpa.com MagMutual IFC www.magmutal.com/innovation NTS 1 ntsdevelopment.com The Pain Institute Louisville, KY • Evansville, IN www.hsccpa.com OBC www.thepaininstitute.com A subsidiary of Harding, Shymanski & Company, P.S.C. (continued from page 39) every 20 minutes, through the night. He began to improve after six hours or so.” A few days later, Dr. Ward was called to the office of Brigadier General Rusty Clark, where a group of Saudi officials were gathered. “The patient I helped was a commanding officer in the Saudi army,” Dr. Ward said, surprise in his voice. “The patient was hospitalized for three weeks, but he was soon out of bed and handing out $100 bills. He asked a number of times what he could do for me. My answer was to tour the city of Riyadh (the capital of Saudi Arabia) and learn its history.” A few days later, the Saudi officer was gone. A hospital com- mander with no medical training had taken him back to Riyadh and told the King it was he who saved the man’s life. “All I could do was recognize that rank had its privileges,” Dr. Ward said. However, three months later, the patient returned with an interpreter. Dr. Ward’s great efforts would be rewarded after all. For three days, Dr. Ward stayed at the only hotel in Riyadh. He was given extensive tours of the city, and the final night, there was a dinner in his honor at the Saudi officer’s home. “Thirty Saudi com- manders were there. There were whole sheep and camel humps to eat on top of huge platters of rice. Barefoot servants tore off hunks of meet and put them on plates. Guests sat in a large circle on the floor covered in oriental rugs,” Dr. Ward recalled. As the guest of honor, Dr. Ward was given a sheep stomach to eat. “It was very tough,” Dr. Ward said with a grimace. “It was similar to the edge of a steak. But, it wasn’t too bad. I was actually supposed to eat a sheep’s eye instead but it was too burnt.” Reflecting on his time among the Saudi people, Dr. Ward said he quite enjoyed it. He learned Arabic during his time there and created a lasting friendship with the interpreter who helped escort him around the city. “I found the people of Saudi Arabia very friendly and supportive. They accepted you as you accepted them, 40 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE particularly if you took efforts to learn their culture.” Following his service, Dr. Ward was given leave to travel through Europe before returning to America. He drove through France, Germany and Scandinavia before heading home. He finished out his tour at an air base in Michigan before returning home to Louisville to join the Fincastle Medical Group, a practice that still stands today as Norton Community Medical Associates-Fincastle. In 1961, Dr. Ward married his wife of 54 years, Cathleen. The couple has two children together, Quincy and Maggie. Dr. Ward practiced internal medicine for 45 years. He was the President of the Jefferson County Medical Society (now GLMS) in 1979-80. He was instrumental in the renovation of the Old Medical School Building and the creation of The Healing Place. “I was the president-elect when JCMS had just gotten the bill to keep the medical school building from being torn down,” Dr. Ward said. “With The Healing Place, I was part of the original group that began the program out of the medical society. There were 14 of us who wrote the original bylaws.” Dr. Ward is still involved with The Healing Place today. He brings UofL medical students to the detox center regularly to learn what a social model of healing looks like. “I take sophomore year students during their introduction to clinical medicine,” he explained. “For many, its their first experience learning from living patients. You lose something without that human contact as a student.” Through hard work and good fortune, Dr. Ward has served his country and his community for decades. He continues to teach and chairs the Physicians’ Health Foundation here in Louisville. Thank you, Dr. Will Ward, for all your service, past and present. Aaron Burch is the former communications specialist for the Greater Louisville Medical Society.