My thoughts are still filled with the Bicentennial of my hometown and the citizens who have been symbolic through these two hundred years. All could not be covered in a brief column, but I must share more about the family doctor who was our primary source of health care during World War II. Our three young physicians were away in service to the country for the length of the conflict. Left behind was Dr. Dess Smith to carry the load of caring for Swainsboro and Emanuel County. His dedication never faltered. He made house calls when needed. He delivered babies and treated anyone from infants to the elderly. He was not considered a specialist, but used every skill and medication know at the time to the best of his knowledge and need of the patient. My father and Dr. Dess were boyhood friends. Often, when he learned of someone who was gravely ill or had illness in the family, Daddy’s response was always, “I will call Dess.” The answer he received from Dr. Dess was, “I’ll meet you there.” Once he found an entire family with typhoid fever.
Throughout his life my father had “heart trouble”. Dr. Dess treated his friend, Lewis, but knew he did not have the ability needed to keep his friend alive and searched to find a cardiac specialist who had the new medications and advanced knowledge of heart treatments. He recommended my father to a doctor in Savannah. On first visit my father was given an effective new medication and learned that his condition could be helped by diet and proper exercise. Surgeries of today could have eliminated the condition that continued to cause small heart attacks but unknown at that time. This help enabled him to live a longer life. Thank you Dr. Dess, that I kept my Daddy until I almost finished high school.
Soon, Wilder came home safely from WWII and joined his father in providing health for Swainsboro. The Smith family continues to be a valued part of our medical community.
Write to Shirley at sptwiss@gmail.com
