In 1968, Frederick McCurdy was working his dream job for the US Forest Service in California's Klamath National Forest—fishing for trout at breakfast and counting trees for a living. Then President Johnson conscripted him to fight in Vietnam. That draft changed everything. Assigned to a German army hospital lab, two doctors—a pediatrician and a surgeon—wouldn't leave him alone. Night after night during on-call shifts, they insisted he should go to medical school. He kept saying no. Then medical students literally cornered him in a kitchen, plied him with beer, and convinced him medicine was his path. "I didn't choose medicine," he says. "Medicine chose me." Now 81 years old, Dr. McCurdy gets up at 5 AM, rides his exercise bike, and is sitting in his office chair by 6:45 AM. He still sees patients four days a week at Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi, where he's been fighting insurance companies for years—like the two-year battle to get Iptocopan approved for a girl with C3 glomerulopathy, or going toe-to-toe with North Side Independent School District to get services for kids with kidney disease and learning disabilities. In 1979, he co-founded CAMP (Children's Association for Maximum Potential) when a patient named Matt with Eagle Barrett syndrome couldn't get into Lions Camp because he couldn't put on his own ankle braces. That organization now owns a 55-acre facility and serves over 1,000 children annually with year-round programs. He's a retired Air Force Colonel, pediatric nephrologist, medical school professor, healthcare consultant, and advocate for children with special healthcare needs—the fastest-growing population in pediatric medicine. His defining moment came watching a Jerry Lewis telethon in the 1970s. A kid with cerebral palsy lit a fire inside him that's still burning at 81. "Medicine is not a shift," he tells medical students. "It's a profession, a way of life, an unforgiving mistress." His 50th medical school reunion is this September. CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introduction 0:25 - Drafted by President Johnson in 1968 1:37 - Dream Job in Klamath National Forest 2:53 - How Military Service Led to Medicine 6:34 - Medical Students Cornered Him in a Kitchen 7:15 - "Medicine Chose Me" 7:32 - The Thread: Public Service & Teaching 10:50 - Writing a Residency Curriculum 13:31 - Becoming a Medical Expert Witness 14:14 - Co-Founding CAMP in 1979 16:26 - Advocating for Kids with Chronic Conditions 18:01 - Fighting Insurance Companies for Two Years 20:02 - Becoming Persona Non Grata with School Districts 21:40 - Children with Special Healthcare Needs: Fastest Growing Population 24:01 - Still Working at 81 Years Old 25:11 - A Typical Day: 5 AM to 6:30 PM 27:19 - Keeping Energy Up After 50 Years 28:21 - Eagle Scout, Two Eagle Scout Sons 30:00 - "This Is a Partnership" 30:57 - What Would You Change About Medicine? 32:31 - "Medicine Is Not a Shift" 33:23 - The Jerry Lewis Telethon Moment 34:13 - The Fire That's Still Burning CONNECT WITH DR. FREDRICK McCURDY: Hospital: Driscoll Children's Hospital, Kidney Center Address: 3533 South Alameda Street, Corpus Christi, TX 78411 Phone: 361-694-4438 (direct) | 361-694-5000 (main hospital) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredrickmccurdymd/ Company: Training Doctor LLC (Owner)
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