OPINION
and also thousands of times Drs. Lou Heuser, Matt Brown and Craig DeWeese. Dr J. David Richardson, Dr. Gary Vitale, Dr. Frank Miller and Dr. Bill Cheadle cared for hundreds of people for me. Once I had a patient with a spinal abscess, which required honest-to-God STAT surgery, not the“ later that night” kind. Dr. John Dimar came to my rescue within minutes and not only that, he demanded that the( slow to respond) on-call spine doc meet him within minutes as well. When you are a doctor who is only good with needles and stethoscopes, there is nothing so reassuring as a surgeon who can leap properly into the breach. Dr. Hiram Polk-trained surgeons work throughout Louisville, and we always understood each other well:“ Define the Problem Right the FIRST Time / Two Minutes Early Is ON Time / I Will Always HAVE Time to Explain.”
I thought of certain specialists as my cavalry. Dr. Julio Melo: the kindest of men, the shepherd of our AIDS patients, the maestro of just-enough but not-too-many antibiotics, the connoisseur of rashes, the encyclopedia of tropical diseases. Dr. Robert Powell and his partners – Dr. Powell taught me how to set up a ventilator when I was a senior student, and never stopped teaching me; as a breathing doctor, he has always been the guardian of true reality. Dr. Walter Olson: the master of the neurological exam, the patience of a saint with neuro disabilities, the discerner of MRI lesions, the sweetness of a smile. Dr. Gurbi Sohi, Dr. Wayne Shugoll, Dr. Henry Sadlo, Dr. Steve Raible, Dr. Armand Rothschild, Dr. Morris Weiss’ s group, Dr. Arun Ummat were our lifesavers over and over in the Cath lab( in the wee hours of course), and guardians of the hearts of about half the city, over time. Dr. Jimmy Holtman, Dr. Sarah Cox and Dr. Jon Reinstine of OB-GYN, Dr. George Aronoff and Dr. Jai Bhimani et al. who guarded everyone’ s kidneys, and our fabulous, miracle-working rehab doctors at Frazier, Drs. David Watkins, John Shaw, Linda Gleis, Sarah Wagers, Lewis Hargett, Chris Koford and their partners. who was not only wonderful, but thoughtful, accurate and able to set me straight whenever I veered off course.
The story always started with our ER docs. Drs. Tom Miller, Gail Harrington, Jeff Spain, Tom McKechnie, Steve Richards, Ted Forrest – and so many more! – their voices woke me up at night with tales of woe, and I could tell instantly by those voices if this meant“ Get Here Now!” as opposed to“ See In the Morning.” It happened sometimes that I had been asleep only an hour, and it was flu season, and I was deeply gone. If I gave in to denial and hinted at“ after while” when the patient needed“ right now this minute” they’ d give me an earful, and I’ d stand right up. They protected all of us.
Countless nurses did that too. They’ d call for orders and then say,“ You need to be here, they look awful.”
The VIPs who could never be replaced: Drs. Bob Shaw, Kevin Curran, Lynn Speevack, Sylvia Cole, James Railey, Ian Anderson, Ana Overley, Shannon Lynn, Priscilla Villaroman, Monalisa Tailor and later, Layla Al-Shami, my former student: my partners, who shared call, saw my patients so I could gallivant around, who had my back and I had theirs: I could never, ever thank you enough.
In his own class was my beloved Dr. George Nichols, who died late last year. He used his peerless expertise from thousands of autopsies to advocate for preventive measures that helped the living. He set the final record straight for many grieving families, personally and legally. He taught hundreds of people to think as critically and incisively as they cut. He made this world a safer place, and for those who loved him, a warm, hilarious and ingeniously lively place.
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.
Every time I needed somebody who was an expert, I could find one
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OPINION June 2025 33