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ISBN: 9781459502840

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A Lucky Life

As a longtime pediatrician, Richard Goldbloom placed a high value on connecting with and communicating with his patients and their parents. His ability to reach an audience is evident in this engaging memoir of his life.

Born and raised in a Jewish medical family in Montreal at a time when the gulf between English and French was deep, Goldbloom’s physician father insisted that his children be fluently bilingual. Richard was able to move easily between the two solitudes in his early years as a medical student and a young practitioner.

An astonishing array of relatives, remembered here in loving detail, passed through their Montreal home. Richard recounts how he met the love of his life, Ruth Schwartz of New Waterford, Nova Scotia, the story of their romance, and how he was persuaded to move to Halifax. Richard became Physician-in-Chief of the IWK Children’s Hospital, the leading pediatric hospital in the Maritimes. As a hospital administrator he sought to break down some of the stuffy and dysfunctional traditions of the medical world. As a public-spirited citizen, he and Ruth were intimately involved in promoting and advancing Halifax’s cultural and intellectual life for decades.

A Lucky Life features many figures from the world of medicine — and many from the worlds of theatre and classical music, where Richard’s contacts were extensive and legendary. This memoir captures the compelling personality of a doctor who understands that healing is an art as much as a science.

Contributors

Richard B. Goldbloom

RICHARD B. GOLDBLOOM, the first physician-in-chief and director of research at the Izaak Walton Killam Hospital for Children in Halifax, is one of Canada's pre-eminent pediatricians. Under his leadership, the IWK became one of Canada's leading centres for pediatric care, teaching and research. But the scope of his interests and contributions has extended far beyond the usual boundaries of his medical specialty. He was founding chair of Halifax's Waterfront Development Corporation and for many years chaired the Rhodes Scholar Selection Committee for the Canadian Maritime provinces. An accomplished amateur musician, he also served as honorary director of Symphony Nova Scotia. Dr. Goldbloom was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1987 in recognition of his pioneering work in regionalization of pediatric care in Nova Scotia. He has received honorary degrees from four universities including his alma mater, McGill University. In 2005, he was honoured by the IWK Health Centre with the naming of a new building as the Richard B. Goldbloom Pavilion for Research and Clinical Care.

Chapter Title Contents Contributors Pages Year Price

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Short into about why he wrote the book 2 $0.20

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Particularly looking at his Grandparents and how they came to Montreal from Russia 24 $2.40

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Talks about his great Uncle William Goldbloom (Buffalo Bill) who was a fur trader in Prince Rupert BC who he met in the late 1940s 7 $0.70

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Talks about his aunt Eva, father’s younger sister, who had a professional theatre career under the stage name Eva Goodrich, complete with diary entries 8 $0.80

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Talks about his experience with the Jewish faith that he was raised in, and how his unorthodox views were shaped by medical teachers in the 1940s 8 $0.80

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Discusses his father being the first trained pediatrician in Montreal, his time going to school at Selwyn House 8 $0.80

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Completing High School at Lower Canada College, an all boys school at the time, and going on to study at McGill 4 $0.40

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Talks about meeting his wife at school, going on to talk about visiting her family in Cape Breton and his dealings with the medical community there 12 $1.20

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Discusses studying medicine and some of the masters who taught him. He studied in the 1940s and completed his residency in the early 1950s. Talks 21 $2.10

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Outlines the early years of his practice in Montreal 4 $0.40

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The decision to move to Halifax Nova Scotia after being recruited by Chester Stewart the then Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie 5 $0.50

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Talks about meeting Sister Nuala Patricia Kenny a young medical student and their plan for the Regional Pediatric Program 5 $0.50

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His work with the Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination and Walter Spitzer 6 $0.60

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Discusses his writing career, his association with Sydney Gellis and how he came to serve as editor of Pediatric Notes – complete with excerpts of his work 12 $1.20

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Talks about the hidden agenda of parents who bring their children to the pediatrician for complaints that may seem trivial to the physician. Most hidden agendas fall into one of the following … 15 $1.50

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Shares some words he has received from his patients 4 $0.40

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Talks about the rudiments of family interviewing skills 3 $0.30

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Talks about issues involved with believing that if you give enough funding a cure will happen and discusses the face that medical professionals will not run out of "new" conditions to … 7 $0.70

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Talks about how he would improve the world of children’s hospitals and some of the things he has improved during his career 9 $0.90

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Discusses the honours he has received in getting a building names after him and at the ceremony when one of his favourite patients was there, discusses how he has worked with this patient and he … 11 $1.10

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Talks about officiating at citizenship ceremonies 4 $0.40

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Talks about becoming chancellor of the university (Dalhousie) 6 $0.60

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Talks about some of the musical talent he has associated with, particularly his aunt ellen 9 $0.90

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Some of the muscial talents he has met: Paul Robeson, Oscar Levant, Isaac Stern, Maureen Forrester, Russian artists that came to perform in Canada, Zubin Mehta, Jacqueline du Pre, Yo-yo Ma 13 $1.30

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The opportuntiy to conduct an orchestra 2 $0.20

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Family members he has lost 19 $1.90

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Discusses the life of his wife and their life together 22 $2.20

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Final thoughts about writing this book 9 $0.90