Besides seeing patients in the office, and seeing you here each week, I am blessed to be able to write books. I not only want to tell you about my two of my recent books on this episode of Ask Dr. Walt, but to introduce you to two of the main characters in (1) The Best Medicine: Tales of Humor and Hope from a Small-Town Doctor and (2) The Best Gift: Tales of a Small-Town Doctor Learning Life’s Greatest Lessons.

From 2021-2022, I was honored to host a TV show on LiftableTV, “Ask Dr. Walt.”

Besides seeing patients in the office, and seeing you here each week, I am blessed to be able to write books. I not only want to tell you about my two of my recent books on this episode of Ask Dr. Walt, but to introduce you to two of the main characters in (1) The Best Medicine: Tales of Humor and Hope from a Small-Town Doctor and (2) The Best Gift: Tales of a Small-Town Doctor Learning Life’s Greatest Lessons.

You can click below to watch a video of the show, or I’ve put the show transcript at the end of the blog if you’d prefer.

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CLICK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BEST MEDICINE OR THE BEST GIFT

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Disclaimer: The Ask Dr. Walt show is designed for entertainment purposes to give information on various medical conditions, treatments, and procedures for your personal knowledge and to help you be a more informed consumer of medical and health services.

SHOW TRANSCRIPT

SHOW 26

TEASE:

Besides seeing patients in the office, and seeing you here each week, I am blessed to be able to write book. Tomorrow, my 39th book comes out and I can’t wait to not only tell you all about it on this episode of Ask Dr. Walt, but to introduce you to two of the main characters in The Best Gift: Tales of a Small-Town Doctor Learning Life’s Greatest Lessons.

OPEN:

Hi, everyone. I’m family physician Dr. Walt Larimore and I’m delighted you are taking some time to visit with me today because I have some exciting news for you! Those of you who know me, know that after my residency in family medicine at Duke, I practiced in the hamlet of Bryson City for 4 years. Located about an hour west of Asheville, it had 900 citizens, 38 Baptist churches, and was located on the southern border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My experience living there resulted in three best-selling books, Bryson City Tales, Bryson City Seasons, and Bryson City Secrets.

Then, Barb and our kids, Kate and Scott moved to the then small town of Kissimmee, Florida, just south of Orlando, where I practiced for 16 years before moving to Colorado to take a position as Vice President at Focus on the Family. Last fall, my first book about our Kissimmee days, The Best Medicine: Tales of Humor and Hope from a Small-Town Doctor, was released and has become quite popular. Tomorrow, the second book about our time in Central Florida comes out. It’s titled The Best Gift: Tales of a Small-Town Doctor Learning Life’s Greatest Lessons. In this show I’d like to introduce you to two of my dearest friends, both of who are main characters in both books.

The first is Dr. John Hartman is a board-certified family physician and has over 45 years of experience in the medical field. He graduated from University of Miami School of Medicine in 1976 and he and I met when we were both family medicine residents at Duke. He’s been recognized as Florida’s Family Physician of the year in 1997. For seven years has received the Patients’ Choice Recognition reflecting the difference he has made in the lives of patients. This honor is bestowed to physicians who have received near perfect scores, as voted by patients. Also, seven years in a row, Dr. John has earned the Compassionate Doctor Certification which is only granted to physicians who treat their patients with the utmost kindness and is based on a physician’s overall and bedside manner scores. Far less than one percent of all doctors in the United States are bestowed even one of these honors by their patients for five years in a row. Finally, and this may shock our viewers, John, you’ve been awarded the Vitals On-Time Plus Promptness Award which recognizes doctors with consistent high ratings for timeliness of appointments and seeing patients promptly. John and Cleta have been married XX years, have three adult daughters, 16 grandchildren, and their first great granddaughter. And he’s one of my best friends. John, welcome to Ask Dr. Walt.

• You started your professional life as an engineer? How’d you get from that to family medicine?
• Why family medicine and not another specialty?
• For viewers who see several specialists for various issues, why would they also need to have a family physician?
• At one time we considered practicing together in Bryson City, but that didn’t work out. So, what led you to practice in Kissimmee?
• We were in practice together about 15 years. During that time, we began to use spiritual care with our patients, like taking a spiritual history, praying with patients, referring patients to priests or pastors. What led us down that path?
• What are some of your favorite stories about providing spiritual care with patients?
• What do my viewers need to know about finding a family physician like you?

THANK DR. HARTMAN

My next guest is Bryan William Judge Jr., but everyone calls him Bill. He’s a second-generation Florida cattleman who spent his childhood on his parents’ dairy farm near the tiny hamlet of Holopaw in Osceola County, where he and his father milked forty cows by hand twice a day. After Bill graduated with a bachelor’s in dairy science from the University of Florida in 1952, the family purchased six hundred acres closer to Kissimmee to increase the herd to one thousand head and he was named Outstanding Young Farmer in Florida. He became a legend in dairy product production, serving for five years as president of the American Dairy Association, becoming Florida Dairyman of the Year, and finally, being inducted into the Dairy Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Jane, have been married 71 years, have five adult daughters, XX grandchildren, and XX great grandchildren. Bill, welcome to Ask Dr. Walt

BILL JUDGE:

• How did you come to know the Lord?
• What memory do you have of my calling and asking you to mentor me?
• I was mighty young in my faith when we met. What challenges did you have getting me on the right path?
• You’ve mentored other men, what’s your goal when you do this?
• Bill, you’ve taught me that Christians need three key influences in their life: (1) a mentor who can lead us, (2) one of more accountability partners that walk with us, and (3) one or two behind us that we can mentor. Why do you think the Lord designed us that way?
• As you think back on all of our years together, what are some of your fondest memories.

THANK MR. JUDGE

I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting my mentor and my accountability partner. I would not be the man, the husband, the father, or the physician that I am without these two me and all the Lord did in and through them for me and my family. If you’re interested in reading more about them, and acquiring your own copy of The Best Gift or The Best Medicine, just go to www.DrWalt.com and click on the books tab. At DrWalt.com you can also sign up for my newsletter or blogs. So, until our next visit, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”

Disclaimer: The “Ask Dr. Walt” show is designed for entertainment purposes to give information on various medical conditions, treatments, and procedures for your personal knowledge and to help you be a more informed consumer of medical and health services.

© Copyright WLL, INC. 2023. This blog provides healthcare tips and advice that you can trust about a wide variety of general health information only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from your regular physician. If you are concerned about your health, take what you learn from this blog and meet with your personal doctor to discuss your concerns.