Dr. Bryson

It was 49 years ago this month that we moved to Lancaster County into a house in Silver Springs.  We had looked for a place to rent for several months and finally decided upon this country location even though it was farther from my work than we had wanted.  We were there just a few days when our baby, Craig, became very ill. We weren't there long enough to have even looked for a doctor, but we located a Dr. Richard Bryson who had a general practice in Landisville.  He told us to come to his office as soon as I got home from work and we rushed to his office  He looked at Craig, recognized the symptoms, called a surgeon and sent us directly to the hospital.  Two hours later Craig was in surgery with a very rare intestinal problem,  Thankfully they caught it in time to not only save his life but to repair it without even cutting the intestine.  Craig was four months old.  The condition was so rare that most doctors never ever see it.  Dr. Bryson had only seen one such case before - his own daughter.  And because he recognized the symptoms the surgery could be done in time.  This was definitely a God thing and we continue to thank God for leading us to this doctor.  And obviously Dr. Bryson became our family doctor and our friend.  For about 27 years we saw him regularly.  He delivered our son Ken.  He took care of me when I had kidney stones.  We could call him anytime of the day or night. We even called him a few times when we were out of town.  He provided medicine for us when we needed it. In fact he helped us out with a sick son one Christmas morning.  He was an old fashioned doctor who was always available and willing to help. He probably would have had trouble operating in today's world of regulations and restrictions.  He was an important part of our lives.  Then he developed a heart problem and decided to go into early retirement so that he could have heart surgery.  It was like having a friend die. And we had to begin the search for a new doctor knowing there would never be a Dr. Bryson. And since that time we've only gotten to see him a few times.  A few years ago his wife died and a daughter also passed away.  Those must have been tough times for him.  Then on Thursday morning we opened the newspaper to see that he had passed away.  Even though we've gone through several other family doctors since he had retired, his death still seems to leave a hole in our lives.  He was a good family doctor and a good man.  He was an elder and Sunday School teacher in his church.  He was a friend to so many from many generations.  We were blessed because our paths crossed here on this earth.