Baby Talk | Taking time to appreciate Bradenton doctors

Wednesday is National Doctor Appreciation Day. Doctors are individuals that have dedicated their lives to healing others. I would like to thank the doctors that are my friends, my coworkers, my healers, my teachers and my supporters. I find doctors to be kind, generous and great teachers.

Last year, when I wanted to become one of the first hospitals in the state to be a milk depot for the Florida Milk Bank, I mentioned to a couple of friends of mine who are doctors what I wanted to do. Without hesitation, they said they would love to support that idea. I asked a few other doctors if they would be willing to donate money to buy the freezer so we could be a milk depot. Every one of them said: no problem. They all knew the importance of the mission to provide human milk to our most at risk babies. They wanted to support the program. Thank you to Drs. Hugh and Karen Liebert, Drs. Cartaya, Vazquez, Matta, LeMay, Matta-Toomey and Van Buren.

For several years I attended the Tumor Board discussion here at Manatee Memorial Hospital. I found it be a fascinating discussion. Not only the topic, but how the doctors collaborated in their discussion on finding the cancer, diagnosing the cancer, and then discussing the best treatment for that patient. I really had no idea how the doctors integrated all of their discoveries to develop the best treatment for the patient. The discussion started out with a brief medical history of the patient. The radiologist would then present the films that located exactly where the cancer was. I was pretty much blown away each time.

How those radiologists find the needle in the haystack is simply amazing. Their findings then lead to the biopsy. The biopsy is then sent to pathology. The pathologists would present next and show slides of cells, colored by different dyes. Again, simply amazing to listen to their ability to describe why this cell would be malignant and why other cells were not. As a result of the identifying the location and type of cell, the oncologists would then describe what would be the best treatment for that patient and that type of cancer.

I came to understand that the radiologists and the pathologists are the unsung heroes in the treatment of cancer. Thank you to Drs. Wasserman, Morse, Broksky, Sorrels and Manco, all radiologists. Thank you also to pathologists Drs. Skarulis, Farrell, Tanev and Rojas.

We are blessed in our community to have a strong maternal health and child health medical community. Our obstetricians, neonatologists and pediatricians are amazing. Thank you for caring so deeply and so passionately about the health of our mommas and babies. I have witnessed you in the best and the worst of circumstances. The maternal child health arena is both an arena of joy and unimaginable sorrow. We work together with a common goal. It is a privilege to work with each of you. I would love to wax and wane about each of you but instead of this being a column, it would be a book. Thank you for dedicating yourself to the health of mothers and babies.

On a personal note, I am alive because of amazing doctors that created a treatment that allowed me to be a cancer survivor. I remember the moment I saw Dr. Skarulis looking at a slide of my tissue with such a sad look on his face. I remember Dr. Hassan not wasting a minute to get me scheduled for surgery. I remember Dr. Berry describing what my treatment plan would be and his compassionate caring. I remember Dr. Turalba caring for me during radiation treatment and the sound of that machine. I remember all of these things as if they were yesterday. It was 14 years ago. Thank you for caring for me and about me.

I am grateful I can thank all of these people in a column. If a doctor has impacted your life take time to say thank you to them this March 30.

Katie Powers, R.N., is a board-certified lactation consultant and perinatal educator at Manatee Memorial Hospital's Family BirthPlace. Contact her at katie.powers@mmhhs.com.

This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Baby Talk | Taking time to appreciate Bradenton doctors ."