Dr. K.

Without going into the details, the past 24 hours have been unexpected and dramatic. With no warning, my son collapsed and was rushed to E.R. #1, where they were ready to send us home, except that our Voice of Reason, otherwise known as Dr. K, prevailed. We went to Better E.R. #2, otherwise known as Civilization. All is fine now and the drama and suspense are behind us. This is just a small way to say: We love Dr. K.

Dear Dr. K.,

Thank you for marrying who you did and moving to Mathews, more than likely a destination you would never have selected. Because you did marry him (whom I have known forever and also admire except that he has this habit of being a p.h. - ask him what that is and wait for him to tell a lie about it referring to me), I knew you were a good person. Step One for a quicker transition to Mathews: Know someone who is from here. Marrying them is even better.

Thank you for moving here in spite of the fact that you and he could have been successful doctors anywhere in the country. Anywhere. And incredibly successful. Did I say ANYWHERE?

Thank you for being so funny and so entertaining. I've said before you missed your calling as a stand-up comedienne. Step Two for being successful here is the ability to put people, especially From Heres who often are intimidated by outsiders, immediately at ease and able to say anything without being perceived as different or inferior. You are able to do this in the first minute of talking to a patient.

Thank you most of all for being the only voice I heard, understood and--this is critical-- believed in a situation where I thought my son was going to die. He didn't and he's fine, but you were the only person whose voice stood out and made sense to me. Your prediction as to how it would play out regarding next steps-- even though you did this over the phone without seeing Son--were so vastly different from the emergency personnel there with Son. You set my expectations right up front as to what we might be dealing with, and projected a sense of urgency when the hospital staff was ready to send us on home.

Even when we got to Major Hospital Number Two, where every possible local expert you could want was on hand, your voice and opinion took precedence over everything.

Mathews is a small town without a lot of high-fallutin' luxuries. But the quality of the people who are either born here or choose to live --and for that matter WORK-- here cannot be matched. Anywhere. By Anyone.

Thank you, Dr. K. As I told you today, you grossly underestimate the value of your phone calls and your solid, straight-forward, no-horsin' around words.

And thank you Mr. R. for marrying her and bringing her here.