My mother would say I "always wanted to be a pediatrician." I grew up in a small town in Alabama, where truly everybody knew each other's names. As far as I could tell, my pediatricians were the most well-respected and kind-hearted men in the city. I longed to be one of those men, doing my part to help humanity one child at a time.Other than restaurant work, my first real job was as a research assistant. This laboratory was in Miami, FL and involved, of all things, working with asthmatic sheep in order to develop new treatments and cures for asthmatic people! Through this job, I made connections at the medical school of St. George's University in Grenada. I thought that pursuing medicine on a tropical island for 2 years sounded like an excellent idea - and it was. Because Grenada was a British colony, I was able to complete some of my medical training in the UK system. I feel this has given me a greater appreciation for global medicine and various modes of delivery of care.I then returned to the United States and completed my Pediatric Residency in the combined Tulane-Ochsner program in the great city of New Orleans. I was awarded resident of the month twice during this time. I then furthered my training at Emory University in Atlanta where I worked as faculty for a further three years before hearing the call back to New Orleans and Ochsner. While at Emory I received multiple national grants for my research in airway inflammation, and the treatment of such, in Cystic Fibrosis. I was also the first recipient of the Hertz Scholarship for Junior CF investigators. Most respiratory diseases of children are chronic in nature but, importantly, eminently treatable. This means that it is important for pediatric pulmonologists to forge strong therapeutic relationships with their patients in order to achieve optimum outcomes. I view my relationships with my patients as partnerships for life. My role in that relationship is to give you the knowledge and tools you need to keep yourself as healthy as possible.I also know that every patient and home environment is unique. Respiratory treatments can sometimes be time-consuming and inconvenient. As a father of three children, I understand how hectic life can be. I do feel one of my particular strengths is to help patient's families troubleshoot barriers to receiving their daily cares. This can mean anything from offering guidance on scheduling to changing medications and treatment regimens in order to better fit into your particular lifestyle and situation.
