Out Of The Old Black Bag
OUT OF THE OLD BLACK BAG
Friends on Letterhead (Part 2)
Ties are the pediatrician’s substitute for the white coat; there are no restrictions on the degree of lunacy if they can cajole the frightened toddler (or teenager) into cooperation. Some of us acquired a rather impressive repertoire over the years — highlighting the holiday seasons or the reigning Disney character of the time period.
Dr. Mark Bellinger became legendary for his authentic impersonation of one Donald Duck. I did not have to make so much of an effort since my baggy, droopy eyelids gave patients the immediate impression of a human variant of Kermit the Frog!
I think physicians who are so industrious at work that they always “feel behind” gravitate to diversions where the object of the endeavor is to beat the clock. Mark became the heart and soul of the Fox Chapel High School Crew Team collaborating in coaching, fundraising, and student-athlete mentoring. To him, was ascribed the quote: “These kids are the heart of me!”
The fibers of his heart extended remotely to the impoverished children of Ghana, Zambia, and Senegal, where he operated intensively for days on end on those with complicated urological conditions but with no wherewithal to correct them. Again, the mission statement: AFTER THE TAKING, TAKE UP THE GIVING.
Those of us who are introverts take to the open road. Even a slow runner like myself (“Slowvatch”) can be an inspiration to the youths who think of themselves as “have nots” and must learn that the most important thing is to make the best of what we have. Furthermore, I will claim that I performed more cross-country and other sports physicals over the course of my career that any other individual permitted by law to do so; and I have a testimonial! I will never forget (and neither will my children who were stupefied by embarrassment) the tribute I received at an elementary school basketball banquet: “There is a rumor that Doctor Kovatch performed so many sports physicals that Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield has designated St. Teresa Elementary School an outpatient facility.” The first and only time in my life that I “brought down the house” with laughter by just being in the room!
The closer I got to hanging up the sneakers and the grayer my hair became, the more I was sampled for my opinion about the changes in the field of medicine. Just as I am very happy to still have hair, I was happy to cross the finish line at the time dictated by nature, without the pressure of a resignation. One can continue to row and run and make children and their parents laugh, but what they say is true: The mind’s the first thing to go!
I think that as the immediate memory becomes shabbier, the distant memory dominates. I remember the silly expression on a young child’s face or a comical remark from 40 years ago, but cannot recall what I entered in an electronic medical record 4 seconds ago. The old black bag I now carry contains mostly personal effects, notes to supplement the memory, and memorabilia from days long gone by that my heart will not allow me to discard.
I cannot adjudicate whether it is for better or worse that we solo practitioners have largely been replaced by “teams.” It is forbidden to “go the extra mile” if not scheduled in advance. The time-honored medical home is an illusion for many; urgent care facilities can be found on just about every street corner in metropolitan areas. Overall, there are still too many “missing pieces.”
It is simpler to imagine practicing medicine without electronic medical records than it is to imagine performing on-call duties without a cell phone.
“Cell phones make better companions for pediatricians on-call for the grueling weekend than do pagers alone,” agreed my contemporary and long-time colleague Dr. William Coppula. “I remember having to find a pay phone to answer an emergency call when en route from one destination to another.”
“Dr. Bill” coped with these stressors by beguiling his patients with a broad selection of signature bow ties, upstaging both Mark and myself in informal sartorial competitions. This has been a moot point over the past two years of the COVID pandemic, when the required donning of masks and scrub suits have made “surgeons” of all of us, including our front office colleagues.
How valuable are after-hours triage services? This is a rhetorical question in the minds of our spouses, significant others, and even our household pets. Are house calls obsolete? Is the laying on of the hands obsolete? Is eye-to-eye contact among the individuals in an exam room obsolete? Are our lives designated for some higher purpose or are we just floating around in time in space? I think by default the conclusion must be that it is a little bit of both.
In spite of medicine’s present contradictions and irregularities, I think that Mark would agree with me that we fulfilled our sacred obligation of carrying the torch and righteously passing it on. I know this because we were kindred spirits.
Thank you, Dr. Bellinger, Letterhead Friend, from me and my colleagues — the living and the dead — for treating so many of our patients so well for so long. I heard a rumor that when those Chief Reviewers were calculating your final practice grades at Highmark and UPMC, fireworks resounded in the heavens that could be seen and heard as far away as Syracuse, NY. Your offering was accepted and you are at the end of the rainbow — never again to be “behind”!
They say that life is a highway and its milestones are the years,
And now and then there’s a toll-gate where you buy your way with tears.
It’s a rough road and a steep road and it stretches broad and far,
But at last it leads to a golden Town where golden Houses are.
— Closing lines of “Roofs” by Joyce Kilmer
The author wishes to express gratitude to Dr. Bellinger’s youngest daughter, Katie Battilana, who supplied information outside the scope of an obituary and who was the catalyst for Marks’s revitalization of the Fox Chapel Crew Club.
source http://www.thepediablog.com/2022/04/28/out-of-the-old-black-bag-19/
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