M e d i c a l R e c o r d F e at u r e
Go for Broke by Richard A. Close, MD, FACS, FAANS A Book Review by Raymond C. Truex, Jr., MD
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n a letter to Robert Hooke written in 1675, Sir Isaac Newton wrote a phrase which is often referred to in scientific discussion, which is “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants,” meaning that each scientific advance is based on the discoveries of those that preceded it. I doubt that many of the young physicians in Berks County have had the time or interest to discover the “Giants” of their own area of specialization, who came before them locally, given that most physicians beginning their practice of medicine tend to look to the future and act in the immediate present. However, with the benefit of advancing age, older physicians tend to look back on the road that they have travelled with thoughtfulness and an eye towards the forces that shaped their careers. Paraphrasing the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, “Life must be lived going forwards, but it can only be understood looking backward.” My partner in the practice of Neurosurgery for almost 30 years, Dr. Dick Close, recently retired from the Reading Hospital after 42 years of service in Berks County, making him the longestserving Neurosurgeon in Berks County history, and possibly the most senior surgeon of any specialty in Reading Hospital. With the help of Berks County historian George Meiser IX and Dr. Eric Hudgins, he took it upon himself to compile a history of the Neurosurgical service at Reading Hospital, the history of which is intimately related to the evolution of Reading Hospital into the powerhouse which it is today.
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