Almost Fifty Years' Experience as a Pediatrician

Slightly shy of a half century allows time for many events and experiences, both professional and personal. Dr. Tschetter's personal health issues are chronicled as are personal family life events, including the premature birth of a grandchild, cancer, and even death.

The dramatic changes in medicine are briefly outlined. Knowledge, concepts, and procedures that were never dreamed of now shatter the imagination. Sequencing of the human genome created therapies that stagger the mind. Therapies once felt to be beneficial are found to be of no benefit and even harmful.

During forty-nine years of medical practice, there were many tears and joys. Some of the interesting cases are shared with the reader, including a discussion of their details and significance.

Death is not unknown in pediatric medicine. Unfortunately, children are not immune to dying nor are their parents. In the early 1900s, life expectancy was approximately forty-five years. Currently people are living into their late seventies. A decrease in childhood mortality is a major factor. This dramatic change is attributed in large part to vaccines.

I hope this book gives readers some insight into the lives of the women and men who have answered the call to serve in the medical profession. Being a pediatrician was a highlight of my life, and I hope you will appreciate we are not super human. We simply have a desire to care for our children and fellow humans.