World's Oldest Physician Dies at 114

[Hobgoblin]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-04-04/worlds-oldest-doctor-dies/53997240/1

ATLANTA – Dr. Leila Denmark, the world's oldest practicing physician when she retired at age 103, died Sunday in Athens, her family members said. She was 114.

Denmark became the first resident physician at Henrietta Egleston Hospital for Children in Atlanta when it opened in 1928, said her grandson, Steven Hutcherson of Atlanta. She also admitted the first patient at the hospital, now part of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

She loved helping children, and it showed in the way she would turn to the next family waiting to see her, Hutcherson said.

"She would say, 'Who is the next little angel?," he said.

Denmark began her pediatrics practice in her home in Atlanta in 1931 and continued until her retirement in 2001. That year, she earned the distinction of being the world's oldest practicing physician, said Robert Young, senior consultant for gerontology for Guinness World Records. She was also the world's fourth-oldest living person when she died, Young said.

Throughout her career, she always kept her office in or near her home, where children and their parents would show up at all hours in need of care, family members said.

"The kids would come in and she would spend as much time as she needed with the parents to help fix that baby or that child," Hutcherson said. "What she would do is figure out how to help them stay well."

Helping children get well and stay well was challenging in Atlanta's soot-stained air that darkened the sky during the Depression era, relatives said.

She treated some of Atlanta's poorest children as a volunteer at the Central Presbyterian Baby Clinic near the state capitol in Atlanta, said her daughter, Mary Hutcherson of Athens. Mill workers and other poor people who had no other way to get medical care would bring their sick children to the clinic.

Denmark loved her volunteer work at the clinic, just as she loved seeing patients in her home, her daughter said.

That enduring love of her work was a key to her long life, along with eating right, family members said.

"She absolutely loved practicing medicine more than anything else in the world," said another grandson, Dr. James Hutcherson of Evergreen, Colo. "She never referred to practicing medicine as work."

Denmark also received several honors during her career, including the Fisher Award in 1935 for outstanding research in diagnosis, treatment, and immunization of whooping cough.

She received alumni awards from Tift College, Mercer University, Georgia Southern and the Medical College of Georgia; and honorary degrees from Tift, Mercer and Emory University.

Denmark's funeral is planned for 1 p.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church in Athens.

"Everything about her was always trying to make a difference, first and foremost," Steven Hutcherson said.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

I'm not sad when I see someone that age die, because we should all be so lucky. I have two grandparents that died in their 60's. Still, it's a further sign of how relentless the march of time is. In a year or two, no one that was born in the 19th century will still be alive.

 

[Hobgoblin]

Agreed but I just find her whole life story impressive.

 

[Duke]

Looks like she had a productive & fulfilling life.

 

[bullets]

That's amazing how some people last that long. I'd love to but it's not in the cards.

 

[Hobgoblin]

Think of how much the world changed in her life time. That kind of thing always blows my mind.

 

[bullets]

It's probably weird to see technology rapidly change while simple things stay the same. I can only imagine where we'll be in 100 years but supposedly people will be able to live on Mars. That would be mind blowing.

 

[Hobgoblin]

I cant even imagine what will change in my lifetime.

 

[Still Wynning]

Think of how much the world changed in her life time. That kind of thing always blows my mind.

I know what you mean. My great grandmother, on my mom's side of the family, lived to 101 years old (from 1906 to 2007). To think about them witnessing the advances in technology, important events and culture changing right before your eyes is just amazing to think about. She was alive for the Titanic sinking and 9/11, for goodness sake!

I cant even imagine what will change in my lifetime.

Just think, 10 years ago I couldn't even imagine people utilizing smart phones with touch screens that let you communicate instantly with someone with just the touch of a button. Just think about where we'll be in the next 20 years!

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Just think, 10 years ago I couldn't even imagine people utilizing smart phones with touch screens that let you communicate instantly with someone with just the touch of a button. Just think about where we'll be in the next 20 years!

Honestly, smart-phones and superfast internet are prime examples of "be careful what you wish for." I have no privacy anymore with constant barrages of text messages and guilt-trips if I don't answer them right away. And the internet has just been one huge, unproductive distraction from the passions and talents (painting, creative writing, bicycling) that I used to spend time on. I wish we could put the genie back in the bottle, but as long as the internet is around, I can't peel myself away from it. So in short, I miss the less technologically developed 90's.