A dynamic duo: Mr. Donald Bishop and his physician champion, internist
Dr. Christopher Hearne.
Married for 24 years, the Bishops have
weathered a lot. Mrs. Bishop says, “Don is
determined. He and Dr. Hearne have a real
partnership. Actually, Don had been at a
rehab facility at one point outside the Scott
& White network. Dr. Hearne called to
check on him as someone who cared about
him, not just as a physician. I truly believe
that was a turning point in Don’s recovery.”
As he approaches his seventies,
Mr. Bishop praises his physicians above all.
“When I look back at the problems I had
last year, I think the reason I’m alive is that
I had the best doctors, nurses, and
therapists available.” Dr. Hearne is quick
to point out that Mr. Bishop deserves
much of the credit. “Don’s survival in large
part is due to his tenacious drive to remain
on top of things.” Dr. Hearne believes that
a lesson other patients can learn from
Mr. Bishop’s experience is the importance
of taking charge of their own healthcare.
“What impressed me the most about
Don,” Dr. Hearne says, “was his
remarkable ability to manage his own care
and to manage his own medication.”
Mr. Bishop would arrive for office visits
with his internist with a typed list of issues
he wanted to address. He also maintained
a list of his medications subdivided into
categories, something he considered a
necessity once he was on 10 medications.
Dr. Hearne suggests that his patient’s
analytical nature is a result of his career.
Mr. Bishop laughs at this and agrees. For
35 years he worked as a materials manager
and purchasing agent for a major Los
Angeles–based petrochemical engineering/
construction firm. The job took him
around the country and the world. He
worked for periods of time in Illinois,
Tennessee, Ohio, California, Oklahoma,
Delaware, Texas, and Alaska, as well as
Alberta, Canada, Kuwait, the Netherlands,
and Trinidad. Though not an engineer
himself, Mr. Bishop says he couldn’t help
but develop an analytical nature. “Working
for an engineering company, you had to act
like an engineer,” he says.
A new lease on life
Early last year, Dr. Hearne was seeing his
patient once a week, then every three weeks
and then every six weeks. Now it’s down to
every three months. Mr. Bishop still brings
his list, though. “He pretty much runs the
show, at this stage of the game especially,”
says Dr. Hearne. Mr. Bishop’s progress
through the last year has been amazing,
Dr. Hearne says. Everyone in his office was
surprised at how quickly Mr. Bishop
adapted to his prostheses. “He’s a new
man,” Dr. Hearne says. “He has a very nice
quality of life.”
“I’m walking and driving,” Mr. Bishop
says. His wife must help him to get out of
the shower; otherwise, M