One of the best lessons Mom taught me was always go to the experts for medical treatment.  In the early morning of December 10, 1949, when nearly six months old, I became feverish and howled with pain, especially when Mom touched my right leg.  She intuitively knew it was polio, even though it was early winter when the virus seldom struck.  Living on a farm in Pewamo, Michigan, a very small village in the center of the state where the cows outnumbered the inhabitants, there were no doctors.

One of the best lessons Mom taught me was always go to the experts for medical treatment.  In the early morning of December 10, 1949, when nearly six months old, I became feverish and howled with pain, especially when Mom touched my right leg.  She intuitively knew it was polio, even though it was early winter when the virus seldom struck.

There were no doctors in our small village of Pewamo, Michigan, located in the center of the state, so Mom took me to our family doctor, Dr. Russell, 14 miles away in Saint Johns.  Knowing he lacked the expertise, he referred me to Dr. Dean Harris in Lansing, about 35 miles away.  After examining me, Dr. Harris also realized he was not able to help me so sent me to the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, which was 125 miles away and took almost three hours to drive.  There were no fast interstate highways then, so she travelled on Grand River Avenue—a two-lane road with much traffic and many stop signs.  I was hospitalized in the polio ward for 10 days.  Mom most likely stayed a day or two with her sister, who now lived in Detroit, and then home to care for my four siblings.

Mom told this story to me many, many times.  Probably I would have been hospitalized longer, but when Mom visited me on the 10th day, she was heartbroken.  Looking at down at me in my crib, she said I did not move and my eyes looked so sad and lifeless. The nurses were so busy they only had time to quickly feed me and change my diapers.  Seeing me so neglected, she told the doctors in her stern, matter-of-fact tone that she was taking me home—that day.  She could give me the necessary physical therapy more often I currently received.  The doctors knew not to object.

Mom then asked probably one of the most important questions of her life:  “Isn’t there an excellent orthopedic doctor who specializes in polio closer to where I live.  Constantly driving to and from Detroit would be very difficult.”

The Henry Ford Hospital doctor replied, “Why, there is a doctor in Grand Rapids who is considered one of the best in the state, Dr. George Aikins!”  Why didn’t he say this before!

Grand Rapids is only 45 miles west of Pewamo.  Dr. Aikens proved to be such an excellent orthopedic surgeon that he was one of the pioneers of tendon and muscle transplants.  In 1973 Dr. Aikens flew to Boston and became one of the surgeons treating Patrick Kennedy, whose leg was amputated as a result of bone cancer.  If Mom had not asked the question, she would have spent almost two decades traveling the long distance to Detroit.

The only way in those “oldie” days to find a specialist was to ask doctors, nurses, or even family and friend, but geography often limited the selection.  In this Internet age, searching online creates a much larger list, but making the correct choice still might be challenging.  Following are some words of wisdom and guidelines:

”No man should entrust himself and his family to any doctor whom he has not carefully judged.”                                                           Scribonius Largus, first century physician

• Find a doctor who is up-to-date on your disease.  Medical knowledge is advancing so speedily, leading some doctors to focus on only one disease, especially cancer.

• Seek a doctor who has lots of experience in diagnosing and treating your disease.  There can be several treatment approaches, so find the one that is right for you.

• Call the closest medical school and ask for the names of two or three physicians who specialize in your condition and who are actively treating patients.

• Contact the association or group related to the condition you are exploring, such as Parkinson’s Disease Association.

• Check if the specialist is board certified, at American Board of Medical Specialties or CertificationMatters.org

• Check the American Medical Association website.

• Once candidates are narrowed down, search GOOGLE since most doctors have an online presence.

• Follow your intuition!  Talk to the doctor and get a sense if you can trust him or her. Ask how many people has the doctor treated with this disease or condition and with what results, both positive and negative.

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