Chapter 3: cont...finding a surgeon

I wanted get a lot of information before choosing a surgeon. I had seen first hand from the example of both my parent’s fight with cancer and from Ronni’s health problems how important a doctor's choice could be. Also I was a snob and I wanted a doctor who was educated in America, I didn’t want a doctor that went to college in Mexico, or the Caribbean. So I look up Dr. Sullivan in the Official ABMS Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialist and low and behold he went to college in the West Indies, but he did his residency in Columbia University in New York. Ok, I thought…maybe.
Meanwhile I continue my search through another avenue. I was not going to choose a surgeon based on a strangers' friend's opinion. I decide to ask one of the Library volunteers for help. The people who volunteer in a library are an interesting mix, some are volunteers and some are there to do community service.
In my town all the students from kindergarten through twelfth grade are required to do a specific number of community service hours per year. In the Elementary School there are class or school projects the students can do. But by the time the kids reach the Middle School they need to find a project on their own. The school system is strict about this requirement, no community service-no report card. So, we have many students volunteer to get their community service hours, some even stay because they find it fun.
The other people doing community service are there as guest of the court. The Library is very particular about who can they will take. They will not take anyone who has been arrested for assault, or theft, that usually leaves getting caught doing something stupid like digging up a neighbors flowers or DUI . This group of people are usually not very social, they come in, do their time and leave. I could write a whole other book on this group.
Then there are the volunteers who just like hanging around libraries, some are retired, some have full or part-time jobs. These people come from various backgrounds, most are college educated. Two of our volunteers have PhD’s, I remember the first time that I went to a party at the home of one of the working volunteers, and found myself in a sort-of-mansion.
So, it seemed logical for me to ask for help from a volunteer who was a chemist by profession. I am not sure exactly what kind of job Susan had but I did know that she did some kind of medical research. So I asked if she could recommend a surgeon. Susan had work for many years in one way or another in the medical field unfortunately she didn't not know anyone at Memorial Hospital, but she told me that she would look in to it. A week went by; I didn’t see or hear from Susan. Then another week went by. I started to think that she forgot all about me. My sisters and father were putting pressure on me to get the biopsy done. Then Susan called me.
“Traci” she said, “I have been asking all the top doctors I know-who they think is the best surgeon at Memorial Hospital, they all gave me the same name." I knew that I had asked the right person for information when Susan added. "Then I interviewed three women who had surgery done by him, and they all thought that he was great. So the doctor comes highly recommended. His name is …Dr. Sullivan." I couldn't believe it, this was the same Dr. Sullivan who that the receptionist told me about. My search was done-I had found my surgeon.