I am a physician in no small part due to the influence of one individual. My Grandmother, LaNere Gilligan, always told me that I would be a great physician, and as we all know, it is very difficult to doubt the truth of our grandmothers. From as early as I can remember, she told me that I would become a physician, and that I would be a good physician. I never doubted what she said, and really never wavered from this idea, this goal.
She came from a much more practical time in the world. She was born in 1916 , Woodrow Wilson had been nominated during the Democratic National Convention, and WWI was raging in Europe, the United States was not to enter until one year later. She was the youngest of five, a child of the depression, for whom her parents died when she was young. She grew up in Austin Texas being raised by her eldest sister. She met my grandfather in Junior High and dated him through college. They were married in 1939. She studied nursing a Seaton School of Nursing in Austin Texas, and practiced as a nurse for many years. Many things influenced her life, and subsequently mine, but her time during the depression and her life as nurse were the things I remember the most.
From the Depression, she gained a sense of frugality. She always planned for the worst, expecting that things could decline as they had done when she was young. This frugality was something that my Grandfather had never known, he was the son of a drag-line operator, and his father always had work in the coal region of Indiana. LaNere, knew hunger, and knew early that she was an extra mouth to feed, one that was not yet able to pay her own way. This drove her toward self-sufficiency, and in that time this meant secretarial work or nursing.
Nursing was very different in the 1930’s, as was medicine. It was a time when great discoveries still lay ahead, penicillin had only come to light in 1928, and the use of certain advance surgical techniques (electrocautery) were just beginning in surgery. It was a time a paternalistic medicine. She learned her craft during this time and it influenced her interactions with physicians from that point forward. She was of an age that did not question the physician, right or wrong that was the time. She learned many skills from this environment, one of which was to encourage behavior she wanted indirectly, and this she used to great effect on me, in my youth, as she molded me into a physician.
This influence came in many forms, from the first anatomy book at an early age (pop-up), to a Gray’s Anatomy for Christmas. She encouraged exploration and investigation in all things, there was never a wrong answer, just a conclusion that needed more work. As well, there was the need to ensure the well rounded nature of her young pupil, indeed of the young physician. Lessons hard learned from an earlier time had to be passed on, and an appreciation for the lives of others must be instilled. These she did without my even knowing or seeing. Understanding of our shared past, from whence we came (the family history as it were) should be learned so that you would be grounded for the future.
As with all things, the time comes when those who influence our lives pass on from our view. Their care and concerns, the lessons learned are instilled deeply in our lives, so much so that they live on within our hearts and minds. The influences they have laid upon us are so subtle and so deep that we can hardly see where they end and we ourselves begin, they simply are part of who we have become. These influences carry us forward and help make us who we are. So, on this day, as I reflect on the life on LaNere Gilligan, one of the most influential people in my life, I send my thanks to her for all that she taught me, for the unending support and for the steadfast belief in what I could become even when I doubted myself. May I always act in a manner befitting this legacy, as may we all.
LaNere Gilligan (Thornberry) June 5, 1916-November 27, 2010
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