A miraculous Christmas

A Christmas miracle happened here 75 years ago, thanks to the late, revered Dr. E.R.W. “Ted” Fox.

Mrs. Carl Myers and her son Charles, 4, walked downtown from their home in the 1800 block of Fourth Street to see Christmas toys.

Charles, who was nicknamed Butch, should have been dead.

That May, three Spokane specialists discovered a huge growth on Charles’ liver and gave him four months to live, according to the Coeur d’Alene Press of Dec. 6, 1946. In October, four months later, the boy was still alive. But, as the growth expanded, he was forced to lean far backward to walk.

Enter Coeur d’Alene Drs. Fox and F.F. Hornung.

In those days, doctors did a bit of everything. In December 1996, when Dr. Fox retired at age 87 after 57 years as a physician, Spokesman-Review colleague Cynthia Taggart wrote:

“His specialty (obstetrics and gynecology) meant nothing. Doctors then did everything from orthopedic and brain surgery to delivering babies at home and stitching wounds in the woods.”

Dr. Fox delivered more than 4,000 babies, including some of you. But we’re getting ahead of the story.

By October 1946, Charles had one shot at life, a surgery to be performed by Dr. Fox, assisted by Dr. Hornung. The surgery was conducted Nov. 1. Two blood transfusions were needed to stabilize the boy. But the surgery was a success.

Afterward, the Press reported, “Doctors now say that (Charles) will have a normal and healthy growth.”

Fox, who used the word “beloved” to describe his patients, would serve this community for 50 more years. He wrote a bi-weekly column for the Press and published two books, including “The Family Doctor” in 1993, a compilation of 134 medical essays gleaned from his impactful career.

He delayed retirement for years to ensure he found the right doctors to take on his 1,000 patients.

Blessed are those who knew Coeur d’Alene’s Family Doctor.

Heaven bound

Evangelical Christian parents want to hear the question that David Goodman, 7, posed to his mother, Angela, recently: “How do I know if I’m going to heaven?”

Excited, Angela clicked off the steps her little one should take to make that happen. Invite Jesus into your heart. Check. Baptism. Check. Baptism, she told David, was important because it shows “everybody that you’ve chosen to live your life for Christ.”

Responded David, “If I get baptized, do I get one of those free towels they give you at the church?” Puzzled, Angela replied that baptism candidates bring their own towels. “Darn,” said David, “I wanted a towel.” And we’ll let Angela have the last word: “I don’t think he’s ready.”

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: If you have food/and water too/and walls the winds/don’t blow straight through,/no killer gangs/outside the door/to rob from you/when they want more,/then this, my friend/should be your motto:/thank you, God/I’ve won the Lotto – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Thanksgiving in a World of 7 Billion”).

• Speaking of Dr. Fox, I recall fondly that, in July 2001, he hand-delivered his second book to my Huckleberries office in the old Spokesman-Review building: “The Joy of Living: That Amazing Mind-Body Miracle.” He was in his 90s. His handshake was firm. And the first sentence of that book revealed so much about him: “The practice of medicine is truly a joy.”

• Little things matter, although they’re often unnoticed. Earlier this week, Coeur d’Alene resident Tyler Davis returned home to find firefighters helping a neighbor in distress. But what really impressed Tyler was that someone — fire engineer Kelan McKeirnan — had shoveled the snowy sidewalk to make sure no one slipped. And Tyler sent a photo to the fire house as proof. Adela Sussman of Coeur d’Alene Facebooks a reminder to all you newcomers who haven’t driven in snow (and to some of you old-timers who are overconfident in your ability to do so): “It's too bad that with that beautiful snow comes the treacherous ice!”

• Robyn Anderson’s friends wonder when her Christmas tree will come down. January? They have a poll going. Funny thing? The Coeur d’Alene woman has no idea when it’ll come down either. In April of this year, she looked up and, voila, the 2020 tree was still there. And it still is.

• GOP chief Brent Regan considers a recount of a Coeur d’Alene school trustee race BIG NEWS, even though the election totals remained unchanged afterward. “The local paper will print lies about Republicans on the front page above the fold,” fumed Regan on the GOP Facebook page,” but the truth is relegated to Page 10.” Editor Mike Patrick appears to be on Brent’s naughty list.

Parting Shot

‘Tis the time of year when some of you are thinking about the Polar Bear Plunge on New Year’s Day. But not Dave Wagner of Coeur d’Alene. Oh, he’s done the frigid dive 10 or 12 times since 1996. But he never decides to jump in Lake Coeur d’Alene until the morning of. He last took the plunge in 2018. It isn’t so bad, he told Huckleberries. The key, sez he, is to strip off external clothing five minutes before entering the water. “Then,” he said, “you’re so cold and numb that the water seems warm.” However, Dave cautions, the uninitiated should be certain to wear proper footwear when Polar Bearing because it’s hard to knock sand off your feet when you’re shivering and trying to dress in a hurry.”

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You can contact D.F. “Dave” Oliveria at dfo@cdapress.com.