Notes from Dr. Sam

Good Day,

I hope this note finds you well.

This is an open love letter to Ms. Annette, my dear wife.

Recently Josh told me that this issue of Saline County Lifestyles was to feature Wonder Woman of Saline County. I knew immediately whom I wanted to write about. Ms. Annette (Dr. Annette Enderlin), my wife and best friend for the last forty-three years, is the definition of wonder woman. She is pretty, compassionate, intelligent, and loves a good adventure. 

When she started college in 1965, she had in the back of her mind that she wanted to be a doctor. But her advisor talked her out of it. She went to pharmacy school instead, completed her degree, and in 1970 became the first pharmacist at Saline Memorial Hospital. 

She was responsible for creating the first formal pharmacy and central supply system at Saline Hospital. Twelve years later, she left the hospital to go to work for Merck-Sharp-Dome Drug company as a pharmaceutical representative. In the meantime, she had never given up on the idea of going to medical school. 

After a year at Merck-Sharp-Dome, she returned to Saline Memorial Hospital as the Quality Assurance Director and began her preparation for applying to medical school. She was accepted into UAMS in the fall of 1984. After completing medical school, she applied and was accepted into the ophthalmology (eye surgery) residency program at UAMS. 

After completing the residency program, she returned to Saline Hospital and opened Ophthalmology Associates of Benton. She was eventually joined by Drs. Allen Hughes and Phillipp Suffrage. Annette practiced until 2014, when she retired from active medicine. She had served the citizens of Saline County for forty-five years.   

As Paul Harvey, radio personality, used to say, “And now for the rest of the story.” Ms. Annette has always been ready for the next Adventure. When we first met, she was already an international traveler. After pharmacy school, she spent three months traveling in Europe with no set agenda. 

She was an avid camper, hiker, and canoeist. One cold winter day when we first started dating, I told her I would not be around the next weekend because I was going canoeing on the Big Piney River to try out some new cold weather gear. Without hesitation, she said, “Can I go?” I was hooked right there. Just a few months later, she introduced me to the New Orleans Jazz Festival. That became a staple in our lives for the next 15 years. 

For over a decade, she and I ran the Pike’s Peak Marathon every August. Since we retired, she and I have engaged in long distance bicycling riding. This last fall, we and some of our friends completed the circumference of the United States on our bicycles. 

Over the years, she (Grandma) has immersed herself in the lives of our granddaughters and nieces. These young ladies have been and continue to be at the center of our traveling expeditions.  

I hereby nominate her as the poster child for Wonder Woman of Saline County. 

Have a good journey,

Sam

 Dr. Sam Taggart is a retired doctor/writer/marathon runner who practiced in Benton for 45 years. He recently released For Every Family, A Family Doctor: a history of the modern Family Medicine Movement in Arkansas. His other books include Country Doctors of Arkansas, The Public’s Health, With a Heavy Heart and We All Hear Voices.