Dr. Nielsen

My pediatrician died this past weekend. Seems like an odd thing to blog about, but I'm pretty upset about it. Dr. Gregory Nielsen died of a brief illness that resulted in a high fever and a stroke. It happened so fast. He leaves behind a wife and four young kids. You can see his obituary here.  In tribute to his memory and good life, I would like to write about what he did personally for me and my family.

He's been with all my kids since birth. I remember when he came to the hospital right after I had Evelynn, I was still a little nervous about whether I had chosen the "right" doctor for my baby. He was still pretty young for a doctor, and he just seemed so... lanky. He was over 6'5" and looked a little bit like lurch (and I mean that in the nicest possible way). But he picked up my baby with his huge hands, and I remember thinking, this guy will NEVER drop my baby, his hands are huge! And for whatever reason, that comforted me. Then Evelynn had trouble gaining weight. He encouraged me to keep breast feeding as much as possible, which was a comfort to me because I was having such a crisis of identity that I could not feed my baby properly. When Eloise was born, and later Michael, and they also struggled to gain weight in the beginning, he took that in stride as just part of my children's growth process, and didn't scold me about doing something wrong. That was nice. He asked me on several occasions when illness struck my family what I thought was wrong, what I thought we should do, and what I thought about various treatments. It was nice to feel valued as the mother of my children, worthy of participating in their health care. Then last year came where I valued him the most. I was going in for the girls 3and 5 year appointment, and I had sick Michael in the sling on my chest. After checking out the girls, Dr. Nielsen noticed Michael's breathing, from across the room and in my sling. He asked to check him out. It sounded like the start if RSV, and he got the ball rolling, taking extra precautions and asking to see him again, without asking us to pay for another appointment, so he could keep and eye on him. He advised us to go to the hospital the next day, just to be safe, and he called me on the phone later that evening, when we had already checked into the hospital. He came and checked Michael out in the hospital during our stay. And I know that he was SUPER busy with other things, since that was the year of massive RSV outbreaks. He was always kind, always. It's going to be hard to choose another pediatrician. It seems odd, but I'm reluctant to get another one, even though Michael is due for his 18 month appointment, because I feel like I'm being disloyal, at least until after the funeral.

This death brings home the fact once again that life is fragile. Loved ones can be taken from you in a moment, whether you are ready or not. Makes me bring my loved ones in a little bit closer, makes me want to reach out to others a little bit more. I hope and pray no one gets taken from me anytime soon, but I am so thankful for the knowledge I have of eternal families. It doesn't make the pain any less, but it puts it in perspective.

Thank you for your service Dr. Nielsen.