I'm a very lucky fellow. My partner, Wendy, and I have been happily married for thirty-five years. I have always loved her and I always will. We have been blessed with three wonderful children ages seventeen to thirty-two. They're terrific.
Our ancestors came to Canada from England, Ireland, Scotland and the United States of America. I had a great start in life, I was raised by loving, well educated parents. My father was a Ph.D. (magna cum laude) organic chemist and Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada (FCIC). He retired as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Deputy Commissioner; the RCMP's second highest rank. My mother was a Registered Nurse, seamstress, artist and home maker.
I was twenty-four years of age when I received my M.D. from the University of Ottawa. I completed a rotating internship at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. I became a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia in 1974. I completed surgical work-ups and performed surgical assists for two years in Victoria, British Columbia at the Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt Hospital. While living in Victoria I also completed my Flight Surgeon's training. Later I was Senior Medical Officer at a thirteen bed hospital isolated at the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Two doctors, four nurses and six medical assistants cared for military personnel and residents of the nearby logging and fishing communities. We were so isolated that we had to phone donors whenever a patient needed a transfusion. Delivering babies and doing surgery in total isolation was an unforgettable experience. I received a personal letter of commendation from General George A. Brown (then Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff). I was also awarded Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee Medal. I left the Canadian Armed Forces in 1977. I worked as a family doctor in the Comox Valley, on Vancouver Island, for thirteen years. I spent ten of those thirteen years in Cumberland. I managed the construction of a two-story, thirty room clinic for my partners in Cumberland. Later, I built my own clinic in Courtenay and practiced another three years there. I chaired the Pediatric Committee as well as the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee at Saint Joseph's General Hospital in Comox. I delivered babies, spent some time covering the emergency room and frequently assisted our surgeons in the operating room. I moved to Deep Cove, BC in 1991. I worked as a locum for one year in North Vancouver. I then managed the construction of a walk-in-clinic at the Brentwood Town Centre in Burnaby. We opened our clinic with no patients. Over the next five years almost forty-thousand individuals made frequent visits to our clinic. After almost twenty-five years of medical practice, I retired in 1998. I am now a lifetime retired member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. For some reason, many people think that doctors never leave medical practice voluntarily; so let me put your unspoken question to rest, I was never sued. Today, my home business gives me the freedom to make a difference in an exciting new way. It is more rewarding to proactively promote wellness, than it ever was to reactively treat disease. I know you will agree that wellness promotion is a better paradigm. It is an opportunity to do incredible good. Healthy people are happy people. Happy energetic people make our world a better place.
Other Stuff
Paper route for The Star Weekly
Loved Saturday afternoon at the movies
Played a lot of golf as a kid (nine—thirty-six holes a day)
Dominion Marksman Gold
Elected Martin Collegiate Head Boy (House of Stewart)
Member of the Chess Club
Played point guard and halfback for my high school basketball and football teams
Red Cross Swimming Instructor
Royal Life Saving Society Bronze Medallion and Award of Merit
Worked as a life guard and taught swimming for four summers
Worked one summer at the RCMP Crime Lab in Ottawa
Scuba Diver
Red Cross First Aid Examiner
Ministry of Transport (MOT) pilot fitness exams
Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
Owned a computer software business (Acknowledged Solutions)
Hobbies: Landscape and nature photography, audiophile stuff, digital video and all things Apple and Mac
