Author: Alexander Kalenak M. D.

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2009-07

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 1440146985

Something More by Alexander Kalenak, M.D. is a remarkable personal history of a WW II childhood, a pioneering career in sports medicine, and a life seeking the true meanings of medical care and spiritual faith. As a young boy hungry for knowledge, Alexander Kalenak played dirt lot baseball, shined shoes, delivered newspapers, and worshipped his older brothers speeding along in the family's 1940 Buick. All this and more took place in a quintessential American landscape: a Pennsylvania coal mining town. In this memoir, Kalenak describes how his love of learning carried him into a career as a modern physician-scientist. He became an orthopedic surgeon just as sports medicine emerged as a field of specialty and he moved his young family to Hershey, Pennsylvania, to pursue the dream of being team physician for the Penn State Nittany Lions. For twenty-two years, he pioneered new surgical techniques and cared for countless football players and other athletes. Dr. K, or Coach K, as he was called, describes how he listened to all his patients with his surgeon's mind and with his human heart. Stories of fishing, biking in France, playing golf, and enjoying the beach with his family reveal the balance of a well-lived life. In his final illness, pancreatic cancer, Kalenak was a role model of perseverance and patience, seeking new treatments that might ultimately help others. He was named a member of the Hall of Fame of the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine in 2006 and was cited as one of the Best Doctors in America. From the book: On my way to the training room where players were suiting up for the game, I would stop to think about what kinds of emergencies I might have to deal with. I would think about neck injuries, head injuries, broken legs, dislocated hips and what would have to be done quickly. I knew that for the next six or seven hours, I would be in a world of semi-controlled chaos, and I wanted to be sure I was in a frame of mind to deal with any major crisis in front of a hundred thousand people. I would pray that there would be no serious injuries, but if there were, that I would be able to apply my knowledge and my skills to take care of the players. This was my mental preparation for the game. Throughout my life I have been certain that the central thing we have been put upon earth to do is to develop and nurture relationships. If you nurture relationships, many rewards will come to you. It's just that simple.