Bergton local Dr. Linford Gehman graduated from high school in the early 1950s. Much like many recent high school graduates today, the then 18-year-old Gehman was unsure about what to study in college.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what I wanted to do,鈥� he admits.
Gehman decided to take a break before pursing a degree, and spent the next two years working at a porcelain plant in Pennsylvania.
However, before he could decide on a career path, Gehman was drafted into the Korean War. As a member of the Mennonite Church, he was granted status as a conscientious objector, and was assigned alternative service at a veteran鈥檚 mental hospital on Long Island, N.Y.
鈥淚 assisted with the care of the residents,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚 provided for their meals, their toiletries, bathing 鈥� things like that.鈥�
After two years of helping the doctors, nurses and patients, Gehman had a clear vision of his own future.
鈥淎t that point, I felt I could be of service to people by becoming a physician,鈥� he said.
With a clear goal in mind, he enrolled at 91短视频 鈥� graduating four years later with a degree in pre-med. He continued his education at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, and eventually completed an internship and residency at St. Luke鈥檚 Hospital in Pennsylvania.
鈥淚t鈥檚 where I met my future wife,鈥� he said, smiling, adding that she worked as an obstetrics nurse.
The couple had a long courtship 鈥� due to Gehman鈥檚 decision to volunteer with the Mennonite Central Committee 鈥� they would wait seven years to be married.
Despite the time apart from his loved ones, Gehman felt called to serve with the MCC 鈥� which he says is an 鈥渁gency that helps to take care of refugees or persons in countries that have great need.鈥�
鈥淚 always took an interest in programs overseas,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚 was influenced in part by other physicians who had served.鈥�
In 1965, Gehman was sent to serve at a hospital in Nha Trang 鈥� a coastal city in Vietnam. With the help of an interpreter, he treated a variety of medical issues-including tuberculosis, malaria, cataracts and respiratory disorders.
During his three and half years in the city, Gehman recalls how the Vietnam War slowly affected the hospital staff more frequently.
鈥淲hen I first [arrived], I could travel almost anywhere I wanted,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淭hen, the war gradually built up and after that, travel was limited.鈥�
After he returned from Vietnam, the MCC immediately offered him another volunteer opportunity in Nigeria, which was ravaged by civil war. Gehman agreed to go and spent a turbulent year in the southern part of the country.
鈥淚 was forced to treat things surgically that I had only assisted with as an intern or a resident,鈥� he remarked.
After a marketplace was bombed, he remembers operating on limbs with 鈥渁 textbook on one side and the anesthesiologists on the other.鈥�
Gehman said he stayed calm by focusing on the singular task at hand, and credits his assisting staff for their service.
鈥淚 had good assistants I could rely on in the operating room,鈥� he praised.
Although the work was challenging, he considered it a 鈥渞ewarding鈥� experience, and has no regrets about going on either trip.
After returning from Nigeria, he married Becky and settled in the Bergton area, where he still practices.
After decades of working as a doctor, some might ask why the 80-year-old physician doesn鈥檛 want to retire 鈥� but for Gehman, the answer is simple.
鈥淲hat keeps me practicing medicine here is the tremendous relationships I have with my patients,鈥� he explained. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I鈥檓 still working.鈥�
Courtesy Daily News Record, Sept. 25, 2013