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THE SUN HERALD
SUNDAY, JANUARY 22,
i'h
SENIORLIFES^YLES
After three years of cruises, doctor returns to ER
Who among us would not like to retire from our jobs to go on cruises? Working on the ships, no less. That's exactly what Dr. Wesley McFarland and his wife, Rosemary, did.
After some 16 years in general practice in Bay St. Louis and
19	years in emergency medicine, he decided to retire. It didn?t take him long to find that, ?the only way to avoid idleness is to have some work to do, ? he said.
He raked all the leaves, painted the sheds, waxed all the cars and was idle. He says George Bums put it so appropriately. He found that retiring at 65 is ridiculous, because he still had pimples. Dr. McFarland adds that the trouble with retiring is that you wake up in the morning and you are already on the job.
So he decided to look into cruise ship medicine and signed on as a cruise ship doctor. For the next three years, he and his wife, Rosemary, spent 54 weeks on different ships for different companies and in different parts of the world. They enjoyed the fancy meals, shows and ports, and his patients were happy, upbeat people.
His emergency room experience was perfect for this setting. He found most of the ships to be well equipped and well staffed. He served on the Norway two times for six weeks each. The ship had an eight-bed hospital with a cardiac care unit, a lab and X-ray department and was staffed with two doctors and four nurses.
But even the exciting, romantic lifestyle got tiring, and they have taken a break after their June, 1994 cruise to Alaska. Just a break from ?cruising, ? not work.
He re-entered emergency medicine practice, first helping provide coverage for Crosby
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SLANT ON SENIORS
By Ada Reid
to go on to medical school at Ole Miss.
He finished his last two years at Tulane. By then, they had 3 children and no money. Thank goodness he went to Mid-State Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., for his internship, because it provided an apartment across the street from the hospital and gave him and his family their meals in the hospital cafeteria. They had their fourth child during that period.
Internship completed, they moved to Bay St. Louis in 1954 where he went into general practice. There was only an old, small hospital.
In 1956, he built an office with an integrated room (during a period when segregation was practiced). Black babies were delivered by a wonderful midwife, Mrs. Labat. When the elderly black woman had trouble with a patient, she would call Dr. McFarland and he would go to what was usually a small shack without power or running water.
A man left Dr. Mac a bequest of $1,000 in his will and he used it to purchase a labor table to put in one of his rooms at the office where he and Rosemary delivered babies for black patients.
Soon the new hospital was opened. His partners were Drs. Henry Maggio, Marion Dodson and John Levens. They were all so happy to have the new hospital where they could do surgery and deliver babies. He calls this
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Dr. Wesiey McFarland of Bay St Louis stands behind his double doors, which originally were elevator doors.
was mentally and physically tired. He went to Phil Wimberly, then administrator at Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, to discuss the need for coverage for the emergency room. Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula had already added coverage. He started working with the late Dr. Thomas Quigley on shifts from 3 p.m. to midnight and later 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. He discovered that he really enjoyed it so he started winding down his practice to close it in 1970.
About the time the new emergency department was opened at Memorial, 24-hour coverage was initiated. Dr. Mac worked there for 19 years, serving as chief of the ER department.
In 1980, he became the first board-certified emergency medical physician. He retired in 1989. He employed 40 physicians during that period.
He has seen emergency medi-rinp evolve from a simole iob to
quire simple transportation. But now, qualified paramedics are provided on every ambulance and even with these trained personnel, Dr. Mac says that it is vital to ?cardiovert? (correct rhythmn disturbances).of a heart attack patient within 6 to 8 minutes. In most cases the ambulance arrives after 20 minutes.
And with trauma patients, Dr. Mac continues, getting the bleeding stopped is critical, so getting the patient to the ER as soon, as possible is important.
Dr. Mac finds the work in Wiggins very rewarding. He can take more time with the patients. He is pleased with the Stone County Hospital operation and feels that the core of physicians who have now opened their practices in Wiggins and are supporting the hospital, will be just what the hospital needs. There is an internist, a cardiolo-gist, a pediatrician and a surgeon.
is now involved with the grandchildren, making certain their clothes are fixed and picking them up when the parents are busy.
Dr. Mac says that some days she comes to work and some days she doesn't, but they are always glad to see her.
Surviving the storm
Their home was almost demolished in Camille. It is well over 100 years old. There was no road along North Beach in Bay St. Louis before the seawall was built, and the house sat closer to the beach.
Dr. Mac, his son and a friend had planned to ride out Camille and had lumber, nails, hammers and lanterns ready, but they realized it was going to be worse than they thought and set out through the woods for the hospital. As they got to the parking lot, the water was reaching them and cars began floating by like
nois Central Depot in St. Mo., and had one made table, one as a wall hangir never completed work < other two when Hurricai mille hit. He left the Coas when Dr. Mac and a frienc them among the debr called the friend to tell hi told Dr. Mac that if he ^ them, he could have the
They make an elega trance and are made evei lovely by the long stair windows at each side door.
Inside their home, the collections of china and birds, flowers, plates ai edition Civil War miniatur are all eyecatching.
Leisure time
Rosemary used to sail won her share of prizes biggest job now is taking Dr. Mac. They enjoy e<
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