First Trip to Winston

 

            To confirm we had the correct diagnosis, we were referred to a neurosurgeon in Winston-Salem. The hospital, then called Winston-Salem Baptist Hospital, was huge to my parents. It was five stories high, and I’m sure was overwhelming. (Looking at the old hospital, it is tiny compared to the hospital around it now.)

            We saw this doctor at a free clinic across the street. I remember playing there, but that is about it. Because it was a free clinic, we had to wait hours to see the doctor. I don’t recall much but that day, but I met a man who would later change my life.

            Dr. Eban Alexander was one great doctor and an even better person. He must have liked us right away too. He told us he would see us at his office next time. He tentatively confirmed we had dystonia. Remember, this is years before a gene was found, and there is nothing else to prove or disprove dystonia. All we had was uncontrolled movements, but at least we had a name, and a doctor that knew we were telling the truth. At last!

            Dr. Alexander was special. The nurses, interns, and everyone knew him and all respected him. A man of deep faith, his wife recorded the sermons he missed due to his emergency surgery, which occurred often. He later told my mother that he prayed before each operation also. And he never charged us a penny for his surgical time. He was a friend to my father and mother, and treated me like his child. There will never be another like Doctor Eban Alexander!

            You are missed, my friend!