SUPER HEROES AMONG US
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So he and Dedra , already an experienced RN , once again took stock of their checking account , and he went back to UofL for his own Bachelor of Science in Nursing , graduating in May 1977 with Dedra as she got her BSN as well . Both had worked to stay afloat in some fashion throughout . He loved little ones and started out in the NICU at Kosair Children ’ s and later branched out into the ER there . He gravitated to nursing informatics but picked up shifts a lot , keeping his clinical focus sharp and enjoying his comrades and his kids .
Eventually , shift work even in his beloved ER lost its luster , and he took another managerial job at Jewish East . But the shock of losing direct patient care while dealing with wholesale change in the executive branch took a toll , and he only stayed 15 months , then away he went into the pharmaceutical industry . Meanwhile , Dedra became a nurse practitioner in 2009 , and joined the UofL nursing faculty , getting her Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2019 .
He got hired away by the lure of something new , working in genetic medicine , for a company called Myriad Genetics . Headquartered in Salt Lake City and with an office in Switzerland as well ( he could use his college German ) it offers personal genetic testing for multiple indications : prenatal screening for inherited health conditions , hereditary cancer panel testing and the Genesight test for psychiatric medication tolerance , among a host of others .
He remains stunned by the explosion of genetic information . He had to study and learn about six genes and the tests for them when he began at Myriad , working primarily with tests for cancer genes , and learning a lot about genetic counseling and its challenges . Later on , he had to learn 12 , then 24 genes ( Myriad currently tests for 35 named genes ) and after that , he lost count .
The FoundationONECDx blood sampling test , for instance , as a “ liquid biopsy ” covers 324 genes in a genomic profile , and the variations in mutations have names comprised of strings of letters and numbers , nearly impossible to memorize . Such genomic sampling is used to guide treatment choices , to see if a tumor has a specific target that we ’ ve developed a guided missile for , or not .
Tired of traveling the entire US , Bill went back to work in the pharmaceutical industry for Bristol Myers Squibb . In his current job for Incyte as a Senior Oncology / Hematology Specialist ( the slang term is drug rep ), he deals with the very real consequences of malignant mutations , supporting the medical teams delivering chemo and immunotherapy , to people suddenly confronting betrayal by their very own genes .
Through most of COVID-19 times , he only sent a lot of emails for work , but in person , he has volunteered . He started out with the Health Department , making contact tracing phone calls for those diagnosed positive . For months , he was the lifeline on the phone for people isolating from everyone . He realized that they did not want his voice to go away , even as they managed to survive the virus at home and return to working , when they could .
When LouVax started at Broadbent , he was there from the start , in his element . He did every job , and loved the excitement , the teamwork , the absolute giddiness we all felt at being together again , striking a blow at the evil virus yet having a ball doing it . “ The patients were grateful , we felt needed , we got our shots ourselves , and we saved the city a cool $ 2 mil - and we had to invent it from scratch .”
Bill ’ s been the medical lead for LouVax Mobile , and the shot-giver and the cheerer-upper and the truck-loader and the pharmacist , the traffic cop and the security guy . He ’ s wrangled supplies and made connections and recruited all kinds of people to the cause . He counsels the young ’ uns and teases the old ones . He keeps us laughing and keeps us honest : leadership from the heart , every time .
Finally , this past early July of freedom , with case rates plummeting , he got back to travel and meetings and all the other routines of the oncology rep . His company held a meeting in Gulf Shores and per the CDC , all vaccinated , they could take off their masks and afterward , sit in the bar and hang on the beach . “ It felt weird , but really nice , just to relax - and see each other ’ s smiles .”
That last night on the beach he felt out of sorts and wondered why . When he flew home Dedra , a longtime Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner , now an associate professor and for 10 years the director of the Backside Health Clinic , looked him up and down and hoped it was a sinus infection . She ’ s cared for many hundreds of people through the Kentucky Racing Health Services Center , and her own Bill was looking sick : she made him come to get tested , and his PCR swab lit up so fast she swore out loud .
They could hardly believe it , but things got worse in a hurry . The whole family got it . Bill became a chair zombie , staring into space , high fevers for nearly two weeks , pneumonia audible to Dedra , terrifying everyone . Finally after an antibody infusion , he started slowly to turn the corner . Once again , everyone could exhale .
When the news came out about boosters and waning immunity , things finally made sense . He ’ s struggled with guilt for infecting his family ; knowing guilt is irrational is not much help . He ’ s in excellent company . Thousands of medical personnel have done the same , and far too many have died , nurses more than any other group . He ’ s so grateful still to be here , still teaching and joshing and getting enormous amounts of farm work done .
We ’ re grateful too , Bill . We owe you a beer , to go with that limegreen LouVax shirt . Prost !
Dr . Barry is an internist and Associate Professor of Medicine ( Gratis Faculty ) at the University of Louisville School of Medicine , currently retired and mulling her next moves .
10 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE