Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 5, 1995 TAG: 9510060004
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
For Dr. John M. "Lucky" Garvin - the nickname came from a joke between his parents before he was born - it was the death of a child who drowned in a swimming pool that led him down a different path toward dealing with his feelings.
Garvin, who has been with the emergency department at Lewis-Gale Clinic since 1971, and has five children of his own, was present while the father of the drowned child grieved. Garvin then went home and wrote about the experience.
But, he didn't stop there. He had always enjoyed writing while he was in school, he said, and for the next three years, working in his spare time, he put his thoughts down on paper.
"It was a good means to deal with pain and with the silly things that happen" working in an emergency room.
Because Garvin often ends up treating 30 to 60 patients in an average shift, there was plenty of material to use. The result was 160-page book, "I Swear By Apollo ...," which Garvin had printed at his own expense this summer.
Anyone with the money for the printing costs can publish a book through one of the vanity presses, but Garvin thinks his book will have more widespread appeal than most.
First of all, he said, people are fascinated by medical stories.
"It lets them see what the ER world is like. It isn't the stuff you see on TV." Second, he said, his book "is about them," and about people like them.
The book is more than just a collection of anecdotes. Instead, the 30 short pieces are essays in which Garvin not only relates the humorous or tragic aspects of practicing medicine, but also offers reflections on the human condition.
There is the man who shows up suffering from "ol' strangy yalla nuchous," and the woman who complains vaguely of weakness and dizziness, but is really having martial problems. Garvin muses about abortion and reincarnation and writes about the incongruity of injuring his own nose while at work.
Except for the events involving himself, most of the incidents he writes about are not taken directly from any one patient. Most of the people in the book "are conglomerations" of several personalities, he said, and not everyone he meets is material for a story.
Garvin admits that when he is pressed for time, patients can come and go without making much of an impression on him. But at other times, he said, he makes an effort to reach them personally, squeezing hands and giving pats on the back when needed. Some of his patients are "just lonely and need attention," he said.
It's at these times that he "blinks in for just a second," and sees things from their point of view, he said.
His creativity also is helped by the long, arduous rotating shifts he puts in at the hospital. Working late at night "has an otherworldly effect," he said.
When he's not working, Garvin only sleeps for six-hour stretches. He spends the rest of his time writing for professional journals; serving with the National Guard; working with the Bradley Free Clinic, local rescue squads, and the American Heart Association; and taking care of orphaned and injured animals for Roanoke Valley Wildlife Rescue.
Since he began writing his book, his work has appeared in the Roanoker magazine as well as several other publications. WVTF-FM has used some of his stories as on-air fillers, and he has given readings and storytelling sessions for several organizations around the valley.
Garvin has several more books in the works, including a romantic western, but his biggest project right now is an audio tape collection of his stories. He thinks this medium will have more appeal to buyers.
Garvin said that if he could, he would trade practicing medicine for a career as a full-time writer. His specialty "is not as glamorous" as people think, and has a high rate of burnout.
"It's very unusual to be 50 and to be an ER doc," he noted. But he wouldn't quit practicing medicine entirely, he said, because that's where he gets his ideas.
"It's what feeds me."
Garvin's book is available at the Hotel Roanoke, and orders can also be placed by modem through Virtual Community at 982-8066, 982-8237 or 982-8274.
Memo: NOTE: Also ran in October 8, 1995 Current.