We have just had the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours announced, and it thrilled me to see that this man has been recognised for his service to the people of NZ in the field of paediatrics. Having just finished reading his book, I would say such recognition is well overdue. We are so lucky, in this small country of ours, to have such extraordinary people with amazing brains, depth of character, courage, compassion and to keep these skills and talent in this country. He could so easily have been tempted away to more money, greater recognition in some other country's medical system, but no, it is us that have benefitted from his work in both the public and private health sector. Thousands of babies he has seen over the decades including my own new born baby.
This book is a memoir of his life as a medical professional - how he got into medicine, his choice to specialise in paediatrics, in particular neo-natal/premature babies. Nowhere is life more fragile than in keeping alive babies born as early as 23 or 24 weeks gestation. Fascinating, terrifying, expensive, emotional and heart rending. He talks about the families he looks after, the challenges they face with their tiny babies, how years later these now grown up babies turn up to visit him. He touches on other child health issues such as autism, hyperactivity, the long term and harmful effects of alcohol and drugs on the developing baby.
He shares what makes him tick, what keeps him doing this often heart breaking work. The frustrations he feels with the politics of public health care, the lack of understanding by the media in its ignorance dead keen on hanging someone out to burn when things go wrong, his intense talent and desire to share and pass on his knowledge and experience in order to bring this country more brilliant paediatricians. So lucky are we.
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