Hero Doctors

If you have a child with special health care needs, chances are you spend a good deal of time at doctors’ offices waiting, hoping for answers to help you along your journey with your child. I joke that our second home is either at my child's pediatrician's office or at the pharmacy, because those are the two places we seem to frequent the most.

There will be doctors in your life who are just doing their job and nothing more. But once in a blue moon, you may come across a “hero doctor.” If you do, definitely make sure you never lose them!

We live in Midland and I often refer to our city as "the sticks" because everything here is flat and brown for as far as you see. What is special about Midland, though, is the people. There is one very special pediatrician in Midland who exemplifies the best the city has to offer. His true passion is serving children with disabilities and special health care needs. He is not only wonderful at what he does, but it’s what he loves to do.

Our first visit with this new doctor after we moved from the Dallas area was unlike any office visit I had ever experienced. He spent over an hour getting to know my child. He carefully observed Jac the entire time, and most importantly, he listened to me as I explained Jac's extensive 2-and-a-half year medical history. 

Then he wrote something on a memo pad and handed it to me. It was his office phone number, his cell phone number, and his pager number. He told me I was going to need to be able to get in touch with him at times other than the regular office hours and simply handed me this precious piece of paper.

Jac has continued to receive his care from this doctor for the past 11 years. The man is a genius, but also a very humble, compassionate physician who cares not only about my son but also about our entire family. I could give a hundred stories about how our hero doc has gone above and beyond for not only my family, but many others in our community as well.

There have been times I have taken my son to him and the doctor would look at me and not examine my son until I told him why I looked so bad––and talked about my own health issues. He has sent texts checking on my child after nights of seizures to see if he was okay.

He has called from another country when his wife had seen on Facebook that I had posted we were on our way to the ER with seizures if things didn't improve. He has been considerate enough to know when to let me cry or pat me on the back. I simply don't know what our world would be like without this wonderful human being. He makes the difficult part of being a parent of a child with a disability possible, and he supports and guides us every step of the way.

Visit the Diagnosis and Health Care page on this website to learn about a Medical Home or how to talk with your child’s doctor.