Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Sad News

 

Yesterday I received a phone call from a friend to let me know my former boss, Dr. Michael Redmond, had died after fighting pancreatic cancer for the past eight months. He was a very well respected pediatric ophthalmologist in the Florida panhandle, and I was fortunate to have worked as his orthoptist for 29 years.

He was a workaholic, and loved what he did. Besides taking care of kids eyes, he was active in the Florida Medical Assoc, the AMA, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, even serving as president.

He was very laid back, soft spoken, and the patients and their parents loved him. He was easy to work for, no throwing instruments in the OR or screaming at nurses. My favorite part of the job was Tuesday and Wednesday morning surgery days. I helped him fix lots of cross-eyed kids, and he was an excellent surgeon. We also did infantile cataract and glaucoma surgeries, blocked tear ducts, styes, etc. With the patients all being under general anesthesia, those were nice, quiet mornings.

Our office was another story, and one of the reasons I retired early. The last 10 years I worked there, he was the only pediatric ophthalmologist between Mobile and Tallahassee, so we were very busy. At one point it was a 4 to 5 month wait to get an appointment, but we never turned anyone down if they really needed to be seen quickly. So we were overbooked every day, and I was getting very burned out. When I turned in my 3 month notice, he was shocked that I was leaving, and said he really thought I would be with him until he retired. I laughed and said, yes, but you’re 65 and have no plans to retire. I can’t wait!

I could only come across one picture taken many years ago of him and his wife Jani, when we were at an ophthalmology meeting in Palm Springs, CA.

Mike and Jani

My heart goes out to his family. He will be sorely missed.

4 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear of the loss of such a dear friend and former boss! He sounds like a wonderful person!

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  2. So sorry to hear of your loss. Great people like your former boss are hard to find and you were so lucky to have been associated with him for so long.

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  3. My condolences on the loss of your friend and boss. May he rest in peace.

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  4. Laura Sturgeon-EverettJune 26, 2011 at 9:50 PM

    Love this pic of Dr.Redmond and his wife. He was such a wonderful doc and you guys took such great care of Brett and Blake ! You are both , forever in our hearts !

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