Change....

I don't know anyone who can honestly say they love change. While some change is exciting like getting married or welcoming a new baby, other changes can be downright scary. We got the call last night that the only doctor that my children have ever seen passed away Saturday. Changing doctors, while a seemingly small change can be a scary thought. Especially when this particular doctor had sword fighting contests with little boys and talked Disney princesses with little girls. He came in calling each child by name, remembering the sport they played. He had so many patients but he always made this mama feel like her kids were the only ones. I remember the day our daughter was 5 months old and running a fever of 105. He took one look at her and told me to get her to the emergency room immediately. We spent the next two weeks in the hospital while they did tests and put her on a number of antibiotics. He saved her life that day, because I was too young and dumb to realize the slight fevers she had been running for a week and a half was actually a raging infection and not a side effect of teething.  He also was the kind of doctor that wouldn't prescribe antibiotics just to put your mind at ease. A source of frustration for me as a first time mom when I was sure my little baby was in the throes of his last breath, he informed me that it's just a cold, keep him hydrated and it will pass. He was right. And to this day, I think twice before giving my children cold medicine. He was also the doctor who sewed up our daughter after her run in with a neighbor's dog last spring. Something that struck me that day was that he treated her as though she was his own granddaughter. He was a professional but always treated us like his family. Maybe because he had watched the children grow through the years. He knew about their fears and their favorite things to do. His conversations with them covered everything from sports to where they wanted to go on vacation. Where some children dread doctor visits, my children looked forward to seeing Dr. Taylor and telling him about their latest accomplishments. The oldest even asked if he could invite Dr. Taylor to his 5th birthday party. You know you've made an impression as a doctor when they invite you to their birthday! Yes, the good doctor was a true family physician and he will be terribly missed, not only by our own family, but by families throughout the community.