|
|
Friday, March 9, 2007
|
|
Two doctors in the house Little Falls duo went from body buddies' to family of practitioners Staff Writer LITTLE FALLS - Ah, the lingering smell of formaldehyde and the sight of a dead body waiting to be dissected. Romantic, isn't it?
Not quite, but the setting worked for then-medical students Harnath and Leighanne Holmes. They were "body buddies" at the University of Minnesota's medical school, learning about medicine together, four hours a day, three days a week for two semesters.
Seventeen years of marriage and three children later, they are now practicing physicians - Harnath is an obstetrician/gynecologist, the only one in Morrison County, at Family Medical Center in Little Falls, while Leighanne works part time in the emergency department at St. Gabriel's Hospital in Little Falls. The couple owns Physician's Laser Center in Baxter, and Leighanne practices there part time as well.
Before settling in Little Falls eight years ago, the two, who had Navy scholarships through medical school, trained at Portsmouth, Va., Naval Hospital in Virginia Beach, Va., then went to Cherry Point, N.C., before returning to civilian life.
As interns, they would work 100 hours a week and sometimes wouldn't see each other for four days at a time.
At the end of medical school, the Holmes had their first child, Jaycee. With the crazy schedules of doctors-in-training, the Holmes hired a nanny while they finished their education.
Leighanne said that while in the Navy, she saw Jaycee, now 15, so rarely that the baby didn't call her by name until she was 18 months old. Leighanne saw her baby while she was awake for only 12 hours a week.
"(Harnath) was chief resident and I had a kid who didn't call me Mom," Leighanne recalled.
|
|
|
|
Drs. Harnath and Leighanne Holmes met in medical school and practice medicine in Little Falls. Harnath is an OB/GYN at Family Medical Center and Leighanne works part time in the emergency department at St. Gabriel's Hospital. They also own Physician's Laser Center in Baxter, where Leighanne works part time.
» Purchase reprints of this photo.
Brainerd Dispatch/ Steve Kohls
|
|
|
|
|
By the time the two finished their military duty, they had three children and decided it was time to slow down. They moved back to Minnesota to practice medicine and raise their family. Leighanne, originally from Minneapolis, stayed home for a year after having her third daughter, Mackenna, now 8.
"When moving to Little Falls, we chose a lifestyle," Leighanne said.
Being the only OB/GYN in Morrison County, Harnath keeps busy.
"I'm always on call," he said.
But he still finds time to take his daughters to school and help with homework while Leighanne chauffeurs the children to and from sports practice and horseback riding.
|
|
|
|
Dealing with the busy schedules that come along with being doctors, the Holmes family, Harnath (left), Mackenna, 8, Brenna, 13, Jaycee, 15, Leighanne and Jeane Whitehead (back), has found a balance that works.
» Purchase reprints of this photo.
Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
|
|
|
|
|
Leighanne works about 40 hours a month in the emergency room at St. Gabriel's and three or four days a week at Physician's Laser Center, working with medical lasers to treat skin problems and doing cosmetic procedures.
Leighanne's mother, Jeane Whitehead, moved in with the Holmes three years ago, a welcome addition to the family. She works at the laser center's front desk and helps care for her grandchildren when needed.
Raising a family while both parents have hectic, demanding schedules leads to sacrifice by everyone involved.
Leighanne said that typically, doctors have dominant personalities, making married life, at times, interesting.
"Doctors definitely have egos," she said. "You wouldn't get to or make it through med school and training without that."
According to Leighanne, when it comes to injuries or illness for themselves or one of their children, their doctor egos definitely get in the way.
Leighanne said the biggest fight she and Harnath have had was when Mackenna got a deep cut on her face. The couple argued about whether she needed stitches. Leighanne wanted to sew up the wound while Harnath thought a bandage would do the trick.
In the end, Mackenna got three stitches in her face, but the battle of which doctor/parent was right went on for weeks.
"You would have thought I declared war by pulling the tape off and stitching it," Leighanne said.
While the Holmes' marriage has never been easy, they've grown accustomed to the lifestyle.
"We understand each other's jobs and demands more easily," Leighanne said. "We know what each other is going through."
Many of the couple's medical school classmates ended up marrying each other, even though the Holmes said the divorce rate is high among husband and wife doctor couples.
So what makes the Holmes' relationship work after 17 years of doctor-to-doctor craziness?
"Keep home and work separate," Harnath said. "We rarely work (or talk about work) together."
They have their own hobbies, or stress combatants, too. For Harnath, it's Tae Kwon Do and motorcycles, while Leighanne loves riding horses. Together the couple travels to Sturgis, S.D., every year for the motorcycle rally, where they get much-needed time together.
"You adjust to the lifestyle," Harnath said of being married to another doctor. "I couldn't imagine doing anything else."
|
|
|
Thinking about a New Job?
These employers want you!
|
|
Schools has an opening fo...
|
|
not a
9-5 person,
how about
11-2, 4-...
|
|
CASH!!
Independent Carrier need...
|
|
position plans sales trai...
|
|
is hiring for the following
...
|
|
|
|
Bids Being Accepted
call...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Today's Best Classifieds:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Overcast, 61°
