LIFE AFTER MEDICINE
Freedom , Flexibility , Found in Retirement
by CLIFTON M . TATUM JR ., MD
After thirty years of practicing diagnostic and interventional radiology in Louisville at Norton Downtown and Brownsboro , I retired July 2020 , in the middle of the pandemic . I had planned for several years on retiring in 2020 , and the pandemic perhaps made that decision easier in some regards . Being an interventional radiologist was an extremely gratifying career , but I found as I got older that the wear and tear of being on interventional call every other night and weekend had started to take a toll on me , due to its inflexibility .
Since retiring , I ’ ve been frequently asked if I enjoy it , and what have I been doing to fill my days , and do I miss work ? So , do I enjoy retirement ? The answer is a definite yes , and no , I really have not missed work . I have missed the people and patients I ’ ve interacted with and cared for , but having freedom and flexibility to do what I wanted ( or needed ) when I wanted , where I wanted , and with whom I wanted is probably what I ’ ve enjoyed the most in the two and a half years of retirement .
So , what has my retirement from medicine looked like ? Prior to retiring , I made a list of goals or things that I ’ d like to try and do . One of the things on my list was to ride my bike 100 miles in one day . I ’ ve been a recreational rider for a long time , but probably my longest ride up to this time was 25 to 30 miles . So , shortly after retiring , I began riding my bike more often and
taking progressively longer rides . Most of my preparation for the 100-mile ride took place in the Parklands , which I think is a great place to ride . Early on Sept . 11 , 2020 , after a little more than two months of training , I embarked on the big ride , and I did it ! No speed records were set , but the sense of pursuing a challenging goal and succeeding was very gratifying .
As I stated before , flexibility and freedom of time are a big part of the benefits of my retirement . I now have the freedom to help with my family as needed . This was something I could not reliably do while working because of my fairly rigid schedule . My wife and I were able to spend a month in the winter of 2020- 2021 in Houston , staying at an Airbnb , near our middle son , who had experienced long COVID-19 and subsequently lost his job because of this . We were able to lend a hand in caring for him , his 2-year-old son and his wife who gave birth to their second child during our stay . Because of COVID-19 travel restrictions , our daughter-in-law ’ s parents were unable to travel from Canada to help , daycare centers were closed , etc . But we were able to be there because I was retired .
Then , not too long after that , my wife ’ s mother became very ill , and we were able to help provide for her care in the last weeks of her life . Again , we would not have been available had I not retired .
Other things we ’ ve enjoyed are our travels , especially in 2021 and 2022 . In the fall of 2021 , my wife and I took a two-week trip to visit the “ Mighty 5 ” National Parks of Utah . It was a wonderful trip , with unbelievable and beautiful scenery , highlighted by my
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