Family Medicine

     The blog I re-posted last week was by Dr. Brita Kiffney.  Brita is veterinarian in Bellingham and is my cousin.  I have always been very proud that we are both veterinarians.  In all the interactions we had as kids I don't ever remember talking about both of us wanting to be veterinarians. We just looked up when we were in college and saw we were following the same path.  I graduated from vet school in 1989 and Brita in 1995. We had this happen again a few years ago when we realized we were both pursuing board certification with the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP). We are now both Diplomates of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, specialty Canine and Feline Practice, and certified just a year apart.

   
Brita's dad, Paul, is my dad's little brother.  Their dad, Don, was a physician as was his brother, Austin.  Don and Austin practiced together in the Kraabel Clinic near Woodland Park Zoo.   Grandpa and his brother were in practice when penicillin was discovered.  My Uncle Paul tells stories about how magical his Dad's little black bag that he carried on house calls seemed.  He learned later that mostly he could only dispense hope.  Grandpa used to talk about the advent of penicillin ushering in the era where doctors could finally do something.  Our Uncle Al is also a physician and orthopedic surgeon, though he hasn't practiced since the early 90's.
   
Brita and I grew up with our family taking care of us.  I remember going to the Kraabel Clinic. There was a messy doctors' office with shag carpeting and dark paneling and a spot in reception where lollipops were kept.  Helen, the great nurse who seemed larger than life, would always let me have as many as I wanted. My memories are sketchy since I was young when they both stopped practicing and they were both gone by the time I was in middle school.  Our Uncle Al was a great role model.  I spent a lot of time at his office with various orthopedic/sports injuries over the years.
   
Brita and I took the medical legacy in our family into veterinary medicine.  I have always felt medicine was in my blood, even if I didn't chose to direct that towards human patients.   Early in my career, I would see the occasional client that had been a patient of my grandpa or Uncle Austin.  It always made me feel connected across decades to a set of brothers that I only really knew for a short time.  I recognize their contribution to my life in veterinary medicine.

Life has interfered many times and Brita and I have had times we haven't kept in great contact.  But between social media and ABVP that has changed.  We initially reconnected over the ABVP certification process and have stayed in better contact since.  We just got back from the annual ABVP continuing education conference.  It was great to spend time with Brita and our extended group of friends in the organization.
 
Significantly, Dr. Fritzler and I are proud that the family legacy may move into the next generation.  I wrote in a blog before that our sons both want to be veterinarians.  We just found out this week that our oldest son Geoffrey got through the initial application process to vet school and has an interview in January for a spot in the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine Class of 2019.

Timothy R Kraabel, DVM, DABVP (Canine/Feline Practice)

Outreach Chairman, American Board of VeterinaryPractitioners