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I found out this morning that he passed away on Easter. He was 72 years old. We have seen lots of doctors over numerous different states and he was, by far, the best around. We were so thrilled when we found him and, over the past 1 1/2 years, I have said over and over again how wonderful this man is and how I don't know what we'd do without him.
And now I don't know what we'll do without him.
We just saw him last week and he was fine.... I don't know what happened.
Dr Tom has been a pediatrician since the 60's, and you can tell by his "bedside manner". He doesn't care what the clock says- if you have something you want to discuss with him he would take as much time as you needed. And the best part is- he has his patients scheduled like this so nobody has to wait to see him- he's ready at your scheduled time, but he leaves plenty of time before his next scheduled patient. He's given me his home phone number and his cell number and told me to call anytime- day or night. And he meant it.
Dr. Tom retired in 2001. In 2007 he came out of retirement (just in time for ds and I to move to Lexington and discover him).
So why am I posting this in special needs?
Dr. Tom had a special interest in special needs, specifically autism. He has an 11 year old grandson with autism, whom he loved dearly. We were in Dr. Tom's office, on average, at least once a month for the last 1 1/2 years and not a visit went by that we didn't hear at least one story about this grandson. In 2007 he came out of retirement and was named Medical Director of the Medical Home for Coordinated Pediatrics (which treats both special needs children and children in the foster care system). This was Dr. Tom's pet project. He felt that Lexington had no place where a parent of a child with special needs could go and be pointed in the right direction for help. Help is just scattered all over the community and, if you're lucky, you run into it. Dr. Tom made it his mission over the last 2 years to make a place where a parent can go and say "I need x, y and z for my child with special needs" and they were pointed right to it.
When we moved here in 2007 Dr. Tom was just coming out of retirement and getting started with the Medical Home. When we moved here he was working at University of Kentucky hospital but we loved him so much we weren't giving him up so moved with him to the Medical Home once that opened. In the last 1 1/2 years Dr. Tom has done SO MUCH for us. He has listened to all my concerns. He's validated all of them and not made me feel like an idiot (like so many doctors do). He's pointed us in the right direction constantly. When the school was trying to jerk us around he offered to go to any meetings with us. When Owen's therapy place started jerking us around lately he's made phone calls to them to find out how to help. But most of all- he was a friend. He made sure to ask how *I* was doing every single time. He wasn't just focused on Owen, he wanted to make sure the whole family was doing okay.
Dr. Tom will be sorely missed. He was a great asset to the community, and especially to special needs kids and their parents.
We went to the visitation today and it was packed. A true testament to how well loved he was and how many lives he touched.
And now I don't know what we'll do without him.
We just saw him last week and he was fine.... I don't know what happened.
Dr Tom has been a pediatrician since the 60's, and you can tell by his "bedside manner". He doesn't care what the clock says- if you have something you want to discuss with him he would take as much time as you needed. And the best part is- he has his patients scheduled like this so nobody has to wait to see him- he's ready at your scheduled time, but he leaves plenty of time before his next scheduled patient. He's given me his home phone number and his cell number and told me to call anytime- day or night. And he meant it.
Dr. Tom retired in 2001. In 2007 he came out of retirement (just in time for ds and I to move to Lexington and discover him).
So why am I posting this in special needs?
Dr. Tom had a special interest in special needs, specifically autism. He has an 11 year old grandson with autism, whom he loved dearly. We were in Dr. Tom's office, on average, at least once a month for the last 1 1/2 years and not a visit went by that we didn't hear at least one story about this grandson. In 2007 he came out of retirement and was named Medical Director of the Medical Home for Coordinated Pediatrics (which treats both special needs children and children in the foster care system). This was Dr. Tom's pet project. He felt that Lexington had no place where a parent of a child with special needs could go and be pointed in the right direction for help. Help is just scattered all over the community and, if you're lucky, you run into it. Dr. Tom made it his mission over the last 2 years to make a place where a parent can go and say "I need x, y and z for my child with special needs" and they were pointed right to it.
When we moved here in 2007 Dr. Tom was just coming out of retirement and getting started with the Medical Home. When we moved here he was working at University of Kentucky hospital but we loved him so much we weren't giving him up so moved with him to the Medical Home once that opened. In the last 1 1/2 years Dr. Tom has done SO MUCH for us. He has listened to all my concerns. He's validated all of them and not made me feel like an idiot (like so many doctors do). He's pointed us in the right direction constantly. When the school was trying to jerk us around he offered to go to any meetings with us. When Owen's therapy place started jerking us around lately he's made phone calls to them to find out how to help. But most of all- he was a friend. He made sure to ask how *I* was doing every single time. He wasn't just focused on Owen, he wanted to make sure the whole family was doing okay.
Dr. Tom will be sorely missed. He was a great asset to the community, and especially to special needs kids and their parents.
We went to the visitation today and it was packed. A true testament to how well loved he was and how many lives he touched.
