It’s more than a Wedgewood plate in our china cabinet. It’s more than a unique graduation present. My Medical College of Georgia commemorative plate is a token from a great friend and a reminder to keep my love for serving others first and foremost in my practice of medicineC9the way my grandfather did.
My grandfather, Dr. Bolling S. DuBose Jr. (‘Pop’ to me), was the rock of our family and of our community in Athens, Ga. When I was 7, he gave me a tour of St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens and presented me with my first pair of scrubs—a foreshadowing of my now-daily garb. He knew everyone by name: nurses, patients, janitors....
Countless people over the years told me how grateful they were to have him for a physician. I remember thinking, ‘That is what I want out of a career—a sincere relationship with a community.’
I was a junior at Vanderbilt University when Pop introduced me to his childhood friend and schoolmate, MCG Medical Historian in Residence Lois T. Ellison (School of Medicine ’50). I felt like I was in my own grandmother’s kitchen. She gave me a Coke and asked me about school. The subject turned to history—first the history of our respective universities, then a little personal history. She and Pop loved to heap accolades on one another about who was really the smartest and most popular at Athens High School and at the University of Georgia.
She forever teased Pop about his decision to attend Bowman Gray rather than MCG for his medical education. She told me I could redeem the family name by going to MCG. She laid it on thick, saying the family name and pride were squarely on my shoulders.
I received an MCG scholarship, and Dr. Ellison and I developed a great friendship. I stopped by her office often for advice. It was like visiting the oracle at Delphi. Somehow, she always made me feel encouraged and energized.
Her
running joke with Pop came full circle when both were on hand to see me
graduate in 2003. And although she couldn’t deliver the goods right away,
Dr. Ellison promised me a graduation gift that would symbolize my
accomplishment: a Wedgewood china plate featuring MCG historical sites by
artist Marylene Williams and designer MariEdith Tanner. Dr. Ellison worked
with the MCG Bookstore to create the limited-edition plates and ensure
historical accuracy.
When the plates arrived this past December,
Dr. Ellison made sure I was one of the first to receive one. Pop didn’t live to see it; he died two years ago, shortly after my graduation. Just as the plate symbolizes my bond with MCG, the timing of Pop’s death seemed to symbolize the passing of the torch.
My family chose a framed quote in Pop’s office to engrave on his tombstone. We think it says it all:
To cure – Sometimes.
To relieve – Often.
To comfort and support – Always.
Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau
Editor's note: The MCG commemorative plate is available at the MCG Bookstore for $56.96.
| Medical College of Georgia Today welcomes submissions to the Reflections column of the magazine. Typed essays (approx. 750 words long) reflecting a professional or personal experience of a member of the MCG community should be submitted to: Christine Hurley Deriso, Editor, Medical College of Georgia, FI-1040, Augusta, GA 30912, (706) 721-2124 (phone), (706) 721-6397 (fax), cderiso@mcg.edu (e-mail). |