After a last-minute rush of pre-holiday treatments and surgeries and therapies, it’s finally time for plastic surgeons themselves to take a deep breath, do a little meditation and maybe get away for a few days. We all know what Christmas and Thanksgiving and Hanukkah and New Years mean to us, but have you ever stopped to consider what, if any, holiday secrets are enjoyed by the physicians who bring us so much joy?
Some Doctors’ Holiday Memories are Sweet
Craig Colville, MD enjoys a thriving plastic surgery practice in Toledo, OH, but mention holiday traditions and experiences, and the board certified specialist immediately flashed back to his childhood days with his first family.
“Going back, we always had Santa, he always seemed to drop all of our stuff in piles,” Dr. Colville shares with The Plastic Surgery Channel. “So you got your own pile and your own spot and that’s how Santa dropped it off.” Lovely and, it sounds like, fairly orderly.
What happens now as a father and a husband, when Christmas gift unwrapping gets whipped up to supersonic levels and bows and gift wrap gets out of control, way beyond “your own pile and your own spot”?
“Honestly, I start getting a little antsy,” Dr. Colville admits. “It’s ok when one gets unwrapped and then the wrapping gets taken care of, but when it starts getting crazy, I start looking to keep pace picking up.”
Some Holiday Activities a Little Off Kilter
What could be more traditional for holiday family get togethers than the family picture? It’s one of the reasons patients flock to plastic surgeons before the holidays so they can show off the wrinkles that are no more, or the waistlines that have melted away since the last Christmas get together. The pressure is on plastic surgeons’ families as well.
One year, in particular, sticks in Dr. Colville’s memory.
“The only hard part is my wife always wanted to get a picture of everyone in matching pajamas and there was always one get who wouldn’t do it, so one time she had to grab him and pin him down and threaten his life and she was never like that!” Dr. Colville shares. “After that, we all paid a little more attention when she said “OK, it’s time for pictures!”
Some Pent-up Conflicts Can Percolate Up Through Festivities
While Dr. Colville is used to winters being cold and snowy, some of his colleagues in the Sun Belt and West Coast aren’t. When the cold (and sometimes snow) blankets their holiday soirees, these plastic surgeons would like to enjoy all the trappings of Christmas, but, honestly, they’d like to step on the accelerator and speed through January and February … and put cold temperatures in their rearview mirrors.
Dr. Steven Camp is a board certified plastic surgeon who practices in Fort Worth, and you can count him in the shorter-is-better winter category.
“I think there’s built-in stress for everybody – if you’re going to be honest and clean about it – but stuff that you know is there is going to surface at some point,” Dr. Camp admits to The Plastic Surgery Channel. “I think my favorite thing about the holidays is, just thinking about it: I don’t love the cold, but for those couple of weeks around Thanksgiving and Christmas, having the fireplace going and bundling up kind of feels nice. I get tired of it after awhile – you know, by February it gets old – but the cold and maybe a little bit of snow, it’s fun.”
Even though he’s not a huge fan of winter, Dr. Camp is confronting the season head on and plans to take his family up to the mountains and ski. “I’m going on my first ski trip with the kids this year, so that should be a lot of fun,” Dr. Camp says, hopefully.
Dr. Colville, a veteran ski tripper, shared some experiences and tips with Dr. Camp.
“Some winters have a lot of snow and some don’t,” says Dr. Colville. “We’ve even tried the proverbial winter time ski trip. That’s kind or a chore for me because they were all little and that’s a lot of work and I didn’t do that when I was a kid, so I had to learn on the fly how to handle four children on a ski trip. That was a lot of work.”
Dr. Colville remembers that one ski trip in particular.
“One year we showed up on a huge trip that I thought I had perfect, all set to set out… and we had no ski poles because I left them in the basement.”
The seasoned skiing plastic surgeon had one important tip for Dr. Camp.
“Make them lay out their clothes the night before and tape them all to them so they can’t lose them because they lose stuff right and left!”