A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS con't from p. 10 A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS continued A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS continued and the day before I was to join a unit in Syracuse, I got a call from the Army Reserves in Buffalo telling me if I showed up at 6:00 AM, then I could join the Reserves rather than the Army. However at the same time, I was accepted into medical school, but I needed the acceptance form to show the draft board.” With the delay of the letter, Rowland was sent to basic training and had to re-apply to medical schools. During an interview at Syracuse, the fourth time around the man says, “How did you change your cumulative average from a C+ to a B+?” Rowland says, “I realized those weren’t my transcripts—the reason my acceptance was delayed. The fact that it took me four years to get into medical school—all of those delays were not my fault. I have learned that God has a plan, and if you’re patient, things will turn out fine.” Leaving active duty in December, Rowland had to wait until September to begin medical school. The bright spot during those delays was his first son Clark was born, and the wait was not in vain. Rowland explains, “For nine months, I worked at the hospital as a surgical orderly. In working with the nurses, I had an opportunity to see a side of medicine that most doctors never get to see. I was in the trenches, and when the nursing supervisor came around asking, ‘How are you doing? What are you learning?’ I’d tell her some of the things I was doing, and all the color would drain from her face. She was thinking we’re going to have a lawsuit because an orderly’s doing stuff that nurses don’t even do. We did a lot of prostate surgery, and whenever they had a complication, a cut ureter, an injured bladder, or couldn’t get a catheter in, I learned all these skills because of all the left turns I was forced into.” When Rowland was in Buffalo doing research on cardiovascular disease, he highlights, “I came upon this theory that if I ligated intestinal lymphatics going up to the thoracic duct, that I could prevent cholesterol and fats from being absorbed by the body. Through research, I discovered a Dr. Serville, the head cardiac surgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital in Paris, France,who came upon a similar understanding. After he fixed a patient’s intestinal lymphatics, their cholesterol and triglycerides increased, being absorbed through the intestinal lymphatics. I shared my findings with him, and he responded, ‘I’m really interested that we found the same conclusions from opposite directions, and I want to come to Buffalo to meet you.’ I was still in medical school, but I was like the hub of a wheel with all these different spokes coming at me; I was able to put them all together and make sense out them.” Dr. Serville’s wife spoke French, and he needed someone who spoke French to entertain his wife while he was in town. Rowland asked his roommate, “‘Do you know anyone who speaks French?’ He said, ‘Well, I happen to have a friend who got a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in France.’ He calls her, ‘My roommate needs somebody who speaks French to entertain a French doctor’s wife.’ She goes, ‘What kind of guy is he?’ My buddy says, ‘Well, he isn’t a slob.’ That was how he described me to her! So we went out on a date to meet each other; she entertained Mrs. Serville; and we got married.” Dr. Serville kept encouraging, “You need to get involved in a heart program for your residency.” I said, “I’m going to stay in Buffalo and do a general surgery residency." He said, “Buffalo?” I said, “Well, I’ve got this deal with God. I have to be a general surgeon, and I’m staying here.” After 10 years of medical school, Rowland began the search for where to practice medicine. With malpractice insurance through the roof in NY, and the immigrant problem growing in Florida, the choices began to narrow. With purpose, Rowland visited 26 NC communities in 3 years. He remembers, “I used a data sheet to record my information gathered. I would speak with the hospital administrator, the director of the OR, the director of nursing, learned how many doctors were on staff along with the number of surgeries, group practices, procedures, etc. There were many reason to choose NC. In the 70s, NC doctors formed their own malpractice company—each year NY’s prices went up by 50%, NC prices went down by 25%. In comparing the doctor patient ratio, there were four times as many patients per doctor in NC as there were in NY. With Duke, Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest, all outstanding medical facilities, NC was a good place. And from a gardener’s perspective, there are four seasons. Rowland corrects, “Well, no, there are three seasons. NY is winter, spring, and fall. NC is summer, spring, and fall. They don’t have summer, and we don’t have winter. Since I like to garden, I can garden almost year round.” After writing all of the Chambers of Commerce of interested places, Rowland received a packet from Pinehurst along with letters from bankers and real estate people who encouraged, “When you come to Pinehurst, we’ll put you and your family up in a condo for a week.” Rowland smiles, “We came down and stayed in beautiful homes for two weeks, and it cost me nothing. My family enjoyed the area while I visited medical facilities.” Part of the data sheet for research. Once Charlie Phillips, MD, put Rowland up in his home, he decided Pinehurst was the perfect place after all. He bought a beautiful house in Southern Pines, April of 1980, and moved the family in July 1980. Over time, the family bought Dr. McMillan’s house in Southern Pines, and the children settled in. Rowland remembers, “When my marriage ended, other friendships grew in time. I met Judy who started working in the operating room in general surgery. She was nice, capable, and smart, but she didn’t want to marry a doctor or anyone who had been married, had kids, or was older. Rowland smiles, “Well, the surgical clinic had four tickets available for the Stoneybrook Steeplechase, so I invited Judy and another couple. I called her at home; her mother, sister in law, and sister were there when I asked her out; she put her hand over the phone and said, ‘It’s Dr. Rowland, and he’s inviting me to go to Stoneybrook with our friends on a double date. But he’s been married before, he’s got kids, he’s a surgeon, and he’s older.’ Her sister in law said, ‘Just go, you don’t have to marry him.’ We’ve been happily married for 27 years.” Chief of Surgery, working 80+ hours a week, and on the ER Committee, Rowland was involved A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS con't. next column A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS con't. next column A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS con't. p. 28 p.26 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. No. 127
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