We have a history in my family that we die from heart attacks and strokes and I
wanted to find out more about my heart at 58 because no one in family has lived past
60 other than my brother.
I sought out a cardiologist to get some preliminary testing and they didn't really
want to do it and I was really angry and we fought and we went ten rounds.
I met Tony when he came to our practice for a second opinion and we were happy to have.
Not infrequently, people come to Hopkins after they've had experiences with other
doctors elsewhere and we do our best to answer questions and provide what Hopkins
has to offer. They determined that I had a 90% clogged
artery and it was the -- they call it the widow's maker and that's what I had.
Patients frequently and almost always will tell you what's wrong with them.
I think listening to patients is an exceptionally part of what I do and I
spent a lot of time in this room listening to people describe what's wrong with them,
their concerns, and what they want to do about it.
Some doctors are overbooked. They don't really give you the time of
day and I just felt like, wow, this is a big difference from what I was coming from
and he also had someone also in his office that was training under him and I thought,
wow, I'm in a better setting, I'm in a Hopkins atmosphere and also and I felt
very secure. One of the things that we bring to the
practice out here at GBMC is Hopkins' teaching mission and so quite frequently I
have either a medical student or a resident out working with me.
They bring a lot to the practice when they come out both in terms of their
experiences in life and what they've learned in the preclinical curriculum.
The leadership of Hopkins and GBMC signed an agreement in 2007 that brought us from
Hopkins out here at the GBMC campus.
We've been seeing patients for the last 2 ½ years and the practice is growing.
We've gotten lots of positive feedback from our patients and their families about
seeing us out here in Towson. We can see them here in the community
and if something comes up, if they need the resources of the main campus on Broadway,
we can refer them downtown without much difficulty. Angioplasty, implant defibrillators,
do bypass surgery, replace valves, do all sort of remarkable things that are high
tech in cardiovascular medicine. My job is, if possible, to keep my
patients away from that sort of thing so that they never need it in the first place.
I had not had any doctor before that tell me what this was all about.
It was like a reality check to me because I had to change my lifestyle.
I only eat fish. I eat whole wheat.
I walk my dog a lot. I felt like that, you know, he was there
for me and that's what this is all about. I mean, Hopkins to me is like safe.
I feel safe with Hopkins.
I love medicine because I feel that I can be uniquely useful to a patient and his or
her family in a way that I couldn't be in any -- almost any other field.
It's a remarkable thing. It's a gift.
It's a public trust. And I love being a doctor.