Only@UNMC with William Lyons, M.D.

You know them when you have them.

Maybe you’re busy with a patient, working with a student or learning from a professor.

Immersed completely in the moment, it hits you, “This is where I’m supposed to be and this is what I’m supposed to be doing.”

They are “Only@UNMC” moments — born from the combination of people, place and purpose that exists only at UNMC.

William Lyons, M.D., associate professor, division of internal medicine geriatrics in the College of Medicine, describes an Only@UNMC moment.

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William Lyons, M.D.

“One morning, an elderly man was brought into clinic by his daughter because of a worsening cough. He could hardly move, as his bronchitis was flaring up. He wore a baseball cap with a label on the crown: Pearl Harbor Survivor.

“After some rest and inhaled bronchodilators, he told me about his work as a supply clerk on Oahu that fateful Sunday morning 60 years before, and of the friends he lost on the Oklahoma and Arizona. For a few days after the attack, he told me, rescue crews heard metal clanging from below water, as sailors trapped in compartments signaled to their pals.

“There are not many Pearl Harbor survivors left, but he and his Navy buddies still get together at a local coffee shop every year to remember the day of infamy. I was honored to be invited to their next get-together.

“Some older patients can get chatty in clinic with their stories. If you are pressed for time, it can be tempting to try to hurry them along. But once in a while a patient gives you a legacy like that one, and it makes you realize the privilege of our work.”

Share your “Only@UNMC” moments.