Written by: Dr. Frannie Koe, MD
Edited by: Breanne Brazeale
October 1st was the 15th anniversary of opening my clinic, Wills Valley Family Medicine, in Collinsville, AL. I can hardly believe it has been 15 years! The following is a story I have often told.
The first day of clinic, I put my hand on the door and was so afraid to open it! Here I was in my own clinic and I was terrified of opening the door! What if, when I went inside, I found a case so complicated I could not help the person and take care of them? I stood there for a minute and tried to talk some sense into myself. I had been seeing patients for over three years and had done fine! But I was still scared to go inside.
Of course, I opened the door. I went into my clinic on the first day fifteen years ago. My first patient, I don’t remember her name, was a lovely woman who said she had a cold but was not really sick at all. I know she was there to check me out and see what I was about! Even though I’d been practicing medicine for several years, being on my own and in my own clinic felt different. I was so relieved that she was not deathly ill and I would not have to “phone home” like ET, to Tuscaloosa on the very first day and ask for help! I actually saw five patients that day and went home exhausted. The newness of the town, the clinic, the electronic health record program, and the new people got me excited and drained my energy at the same time. But I’d conquered my fear, opened my clinic, and the rest, as they say, is history.
So much has changed since the first day I opened the door 15 years ago. I am no longer nervous when I step into the clinic; I am confident and eager to see who I can help. But something that hasn’t changed is my deep feeling of gratitude to my patients and the amazing people who live here.
I am so grateful to our community for supporting me wholeheartedly over the last 15 years. Collinsville was not my home from birth, but it will be my home until death unless my kids have to take me away to take care of me! I have never had a town I could call my home because I moved frequently and lived in so many places, but I have one now. My plan is to live here until I am 104, which is the age my great grandmother was when she died! I truly love this town and thank everyone sincerely for allowing me to take care of you and your families. Here’s to another fifteen years at the clinic, and more!
