I have been living in Parker since 1972. I was a mere seven years old when we arrived. My parents bought the seventh house in the Pinery, which at the time was one of the few subdivisions in Parker. Growing up in small-town Parker was fun and generally felt relaxed with a great sense of community. I left Parker for a few years for my education, but then returned in 1995 with my young family. For the last several years I have been living in Franktown.
My father started a family practice in Parker when we moved to the area. After I completed my training in 1995 I joined him in order to continue caring for the community I had grown up in.
I have loved meeting and caring for multiple families in Parker; hearing their stories and supporting them through good and bad times. It has been interesting to watch Parker change from a town of 300 to many thousands of residents. This has altered the patient type from mostly ranchers and farmers to suburban families.
Leaving the practice
It was a very difficult decision to leave my current job, but I felt that a change was in order. I’m taking a bit of time off to rest after 26 years and then pursue medicine in another area, as it’s still my calling. I’ve been doing some telehealth and it’s amazing to see how much we can do with technology. It helps people who don’t have easy access to healthcare.
As a family practitioner I am able to care for the very young to the old. I treat very complicated patients as well as simple problems. Family practice doctors can sew wounds back together and remove cancers as well as do your annual physical. The other joy is seeing multiple generations of the same family. This enables an understanding of how family issues impact the health of others in the group, which improves treatment of that individual.
I wish people also understood that we do our best but don’t always get it right. The human body is brilliant and complex which makes my job fascinating but challenging. The hardest part of my job has been the added layers of paperwork and documentation required that has decreased the time I can spend with my patients.
Other interests
I enjoy fishing and am currently working on learning to tie flies as well as embarking on helping members of 4-H complete their fishing unit. Gardening is another one of my hobbies. You have to outsmart the deer and hail, but getting something to grow is very rewarding. I also enjoy walking and biking. There are plenty of locations to do this in the local area.
My favorite moments are spent with my children as time passes too quickly. I have a son in Kiowa, a son and daughter-in-law in Chicago and a daughter in her senior year at Ponderosa. My wife and I feel very fortunate that our children grew up in such a wonderful place. She and I look forward to traveling, spending time with friends and seeing what the next chapter brings.
‘Practice kindness’
Over my years of working in Parker I have felt that there has been a movement away from working with each other to working against one another. I would encourage everyone to realize we don’t know the other person’s story and to practice kindness before judgment. The health of ourselves, our families and our communities has been so greatly affected in these last couple of years so please try to take care of yourself and others accordingly. My work has made me realize how precious and limited our time on earth is, so please enjoy it as much as possible.
If you would like to sugest someone for My Name Is … or if you would like to be interviewed for the segment, contact Elliott Wenzler at ewenzler@coloradocommunitymedia.com.