Rural Missouri House Calls
The Life and Adventures of Dr. Charles L. Judd
by
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"After Dr. Wise got her (a pregnant patient) to sleep, Dad opened up the abdomen. Blood and amniotic fluid ran out of the incision, down the side of the table, and right into an open 220 socket that was in the old operating room. There was an awful noise, a kind of zzzzzzzzzzzit. Dad backed up, looked under the table, and saw fire shooting out of the open plug. Immediately he stuck his foot over the plug, and the fire burned a hole through the sole of his shoe before the fuses blew out. After that they were trying to finish the surgery without any lights, so the nurses got flashlights and held them so the surgery could be finished. Thank God the patient and the doctor lived."
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About the Book
Dr. Charles Judd practiced family medicine in rural Northeast Missouri for 64 years. The book will make anyone who has ever had an old-fashioned family doctor, who made house calls, reflect on those long gone days. The stories are humorous, sometimes tragic, but always interesting. Dr. Judd delivered over 3,500 babies, many of those in the home during the first ten years of his practice. One was even delivered in the front yard, under a big oak tree, because of the extreme heat in the farmhouse. As coroner of both Sullivan and then Putnam Counties, he had cases from murders, suicides, and accidents to the first Continental Airline crash in the United States involving fatalities, in which 45 people died. He worked closely with FBI agents, including Agent Mark Felt, who only recently was identified as 'Deep Throat', the information source associated with the Watergate scandal. Other officials included the Federal Aviation Agency. Among his souvenirs is a personally signed letter from J. Edgar Hoover. Many of the stories in the book are Dr. Judd's own words, from tapes he recorded for the author. Written by his daughter, Serece Judd Baker, the book has many insights into the everyday adventures of this unique and truly dedicated family doctor.
About the Author
Serece Judd Baker was born in rural northeast Mssouri and fondly remembers her years of growing up there, among many friends. She always had a special interest in her father's medical practice, and all the patients that he so fondly attended. After teaching science to many pre-medical and nursing students for 36 years, she is retired and living in Lee's Summit, Missouri. Serece is married to Ron Baker, also a retired science teacher. She raised three children, Dan Lewis, Matt Lewis and Suzanne Lewis Stanley. In addition she now has two stepsons, Lance and Vaughn Baker and six grandchildren. Research for this book began almost 20 years ago and it has been a real experience collecting the many stories and adventures related in this, her first and probably only creation of this nature.