I grew up with a family doctor. His name was Dr. Neil F. McNeil. He practiced in Santa Monica. Other than my mother, Dr. McNeil knew me better than anyone, even my friends. In fact, in several key ways, he knew me better than my mother. I cherished him. The moment I walked into his office, the healing process began. So much of the healing process is belief that you are going to get well, once you finally admit you have a problem. This is the process I was taught. It is a process that I know works.

During college, I left home and did not have a family doctor. It did not matter so much, of course, because when you are in college, you are immortal. For the most part, I handled the odd virus on my own, but when I did have to seek a doctor, I did not get the same feeling when I walked in their door. I realized it took time to build that sort of trust. Then, when I was a senior, I got seriously ill. In about three weeks, I grew a lump in my neck almost the size of a golf ball. I went to the college nurse, who took one look and led me by the hand to a doctor on call, who told me he was going to recommend some specialists that I should call immediately.

I did not do that. I went home. I saw my doctor. I went to the specialist he recommended. The lump was removed and it was benign. Turns out it was Cat Scratch Fever.

But there were several days of real stress before I went home to my family doctor.

I've had a family doctor ever since. We had a wonderful pediatrician for our twins in Mill Valley, who was recommended by our family doctor Arnold Wershky.

When we moved to Inverness nine years ago, we knew no one and had no clue about health care in West Marin. We continued to drive to Mill Valley to see our doctor. This is not a casual drive and was tremendously inconvenient and costly, with the rising price of gasoline. Still, we'd do it in order to have that peace of mind and that healing feeling.

Over time, however, we needed to make the geographic switch and lucky for us, one name kept popping up when speaking with the locals. Dr. Margaret Bourne. My wife Karen went first and told me I should see her as well.

She's been our doctor since. Just like Dr. McNeil, she knows me better than anyone except my wife. I trust her implicitly. You cannot put a price on that kind of trust. It is the foundation for a productive life. She knows us, our children, our issues. Her treatment of me is proactive, not reactive. Do you understand the difference that makes?

I have wept in her office over issues that have scared me. I am tearing up right now just thinking about how critical those moments have been for my healing. I have revealed things in my family I have not told some of my best friends. I am no longer a god fearing man, but I recognize Dr. Bourne as not only my family doctor, she is a person in whom I place my faith.

And now, she is leaving. Not because she wants to. She's leaving because she has to. She cannot afford to keep that office open.

This is so wrong.

I'm 50 years old. Our children are moving away. Karen and I have a lot of years left, but having watched my parents through those years, I know they are high maintenance, in terms of our physical and mental well being. We should not be entering these years without our family doctor. We are scared about the medical care in our future. This is a bad feeling.

We need someone to help. Who can help? We don't want to drive 20-30 miles. We don't want to go to an clinic for ongoing issues and meet with different doctors every time. We want what we've had. We want what most every other civilized country in the world has...Peace of mind about their health care.

Who can do something about this?

Sincerely,
Jeffrey Hickey
Inverness