Father and Son, M.D.’s
The Arizona Daily Sun ran a nice Father’s Day article on my dad and brother, both of whom are practicing doctors in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Having two Orthopedic Surgeons in the family certainly comes in handy given the impressive array of aches and pains I manage to accumulate when I’m wandering the hills. Though I must admit, my father’s standard advice for all my ailments has historically been, “Ice it.”
A big part of what makes my dad and brother such fine sports medicine doctors, in my opinion, is their passion for the outdoors. My brother appears here and there in my photos and trip reports, especially whenever the Grand Canyon is involved, and my dad is the one who taught me how to ski. Both of them understand the unique concerns of athletes because they’re athletes themselves. My dad has been active with various athletic programs in Arizona, including NAU Sports and the Arizona Cardinals. He still gets a kick out of seeing football players whose knees he’s fixed playing on tv.
Did I ever think about following in my dad’s footsteps and going into medicine? Absolutely. It would be nice to be in the operating room with my dad and brother—give me a No. 7 scalpel, gentlemen…I’m going in! Though in the end, other interests proved a bit too hard to resist… 
Kaibab-Bright Angel Loop
The Bridge to Nowhere
Mt. Whitney: The East Face
PCT: Onion Valley to Cottonwood Pass
North Palisade: the U-Notch
Mt. San Jacinto: Round Valley Trail
Mt. Shasta: Avalanche Gulch
Mt. Russell: East Ridge
June 24th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Andy, here’s a question for your dad and/or bro: Ask them if they’ve ever encountered a “claw toe” condition after a severe lower tib-fib spiral fracture. By “claw toe” I mean when I dorsiflex my ankle, my two biggest toes involuntarily curl downward with significant force. My big toe especially really stiffens up at the joint where it joins the body of the foot. Kind of a trip.
Fracture was from a serious tele skiing accident at Squaw in late Feb. Just started PT last week.
I’ll probably see a podiatrist about it if PT doesn’t help, and I’ve indirectly heard (my mom’s an RN who works with them) from several orthos about it, but I’m curious.
June 24th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
P.S.- Having medical people in the family is awesome. I wish I had orthos around. You’re lucky.
June 25th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Colin, spoke to my dad. His advice is…ice it. He also recommends you switch to A/T gear.
June 25th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Heheh. Typical.
Switch = already made. Tele gear is sold or being sold. Dukes bought. Dynafits soon-to-be-bought. BD Factors with both sets of soles bought.
50 MPH cartwheels might not be as damaging with releasable gear, eh?