Footprints

Dr. Barry J. Materson takes the reader through the history of his family from Spain in 1492 to Portugal and Prague. They then split into those who went to Lithuania and others to South Africa. Ultimately, some family members came to the United States via Germany and France. He describes his early childhood in Philadelphia and the family move to Miami. He details his experiences leading to and including his medical education. This embraced medical school, internship in Los Angeles, residency in Internal Medicine in Miami and specialty training in nephrology in Miami. He was appointed to the faculty of the University of Miami and had a very successful academic and research career. As he became known for his work in hypertension research, he became active in national societies specializing in hypertension. He details his Air Force experience with descriptions of the types of aircraft in which he flew, aircraft accident investigation and courtroom testimony. He tells the story of how he met Biruta Donins, whom he married in 1963. Her biographical details include the story of how her family survived WW II and how they made their way to the United States. He relates their travels together and lovingly describes his family and friends. Tossed in for fun are descriptions of his cars and pets over the years. He is a lucky guy and he knows it, but he was always prepared to take advantage of good luck. He points out that he is not done yet.