All Grown Up: Charting a Patient's Progress

Maury Sugarman got married to his college sweetheart last night. Maury was my very first patient in practice, and was born right around the same time as my son, David. I think of him as one of my own. In fact, taking care of Maury set a precedent for all of the thousands that have followed in my 21-year career, because all of my patients have felt like my own children in some way.

There isn't a child I've cared for any length of time with whom I haven't shared some poignant moment. As I pasted Maury's wedding invitation and the program from the ceremony into his chart this morning, I realized that what I had in my hands was more than a medical record; it was truly the story of the life of a family.

Maury was a full-term baby, but the sort of scrawny infant we call intrauterine-growth deprived and his father called "chickenlegs". Maury was very hungry and very crabby as a baby. This brought hours of consultations and reassuring words for his anxious mother.

Maury grew husky and strong, despite all of our hand-wringing. Small problems resolved quickly. When Maury was seven, his dad and I took our sons skiing together in Vermont. Maury wasn't anxious to be very far from his dad, but he skiied like an Olympic Hopeful. Both of us dads had memorable moments with our boys on that trip, but our time together as a group was recalled more for the long ride to the slopes, and funny experiences along the way, than for skiing.

I attended Maury's Bar Mitzvah when he turned thirteen. Maury had really begun to blossom as a young man, and had started to articulate his love for and devotion to his family. The ceremony and party were particularly warm affirmations of the incredible cohesion the Sugarmans felt. I was impressed with their happiness in the simple pleasures of their life together.

The years passed like a shot, and Maury went off to college and quickly found his true love. As they stood before friends and family under the wedding canopy last night, I couldn't help but think that as young as Maury is, he will succeed in this marriage and in his life because of where he comes from, and what he has seen in his home.

It has been a privilege to be part of Maury's life. I hope I get to be his children's pediatrician. His medical chart is one of my most valuable textbooks on practicing pediatrics.


Bless your family.

Dr. Dan (+DSS)



Questions or Comments? Contact Dr. Dan at Levydj@aol.com