Greavswasthegreatest
Vital Football Legend
Absolutely spot on Walt......always remember this happening in East London when i was a toddler and growing up......the doc new all the family and more important;ly all our history! He diagnosed my older brother when he was seven with Meningitis and caught it so early that he survived.... and despite the after-effects which could include hearing loss, seizures, limb weakness, difficulties with vision, speech, language, memory, and communication, as well as scarring and limb amputations after sepsis., he had none of those asnd went on to be a professor and specialist of a branch of Geology called Palynology (Study of fossil spores)...vital in hot countries to know where to drill for WATER! mind you he could be an east end nutter at times in his skin head days, rest his soul!When we lived in Walthamstow , as a lad growing up , our doctor was a great bloke . Used to sit in his front room and wait your turn , sometimes , if you went to see him on a Monday , the queue might stretch to standing in the road , outside his front door .
We all made some good friends standing there or sitting down .
When my Mum went in to see him , he would always open up the drawer on the side of the his desk , get a whiskey bottle out and pour each of them a wee dram , as he called it .
He was a family “friend” in a lot of ways .
He knew me from birth , I was born in the front bedroom of our house , with the help of a midwife , Nurse Brimley ,
I will never forget her , another family “friend” who was constantly on call, and arrived on a push bike at the critical hour , and liaised with the doctor .
She brought all the family into the world , my sister and all my “ cousins “ , knew us all and would call out as she cycled past if we were playing in the road .
Our doctor always called you by your first name , was always interested in how you felt , always had time to listen , and most importantly , always checked your history .
Once his evening surgery was done , he would go off on his home visits,
He also had home visits in the morning as well.
I can remember him coming to see me when I had German Measles and was feeling awful .
Sometimes he would call in the morning and in the evening , depending on how ill you were .
Can you imagine that now .
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