The reviews are in.

The two men who were given the task of presenting a report on ‘Doctor Grandad’, the latest publication by veteran surgeon Cecil Cyrus, have given it four thumbs up, describing it as a remarkable piece of literature.{{more}}

Those who joined historian Dr Adrian Fraser and Lawyer Jomo Thomas at the Methodist Church Hall in Kingstown last Wednesday, July 4, were treated to a trip down memory lane.

Many of the people in the audience were mentioned by Dr Cyrus in his book, as he either delivered them or helped them back to health during his almost four decades as a physician.

The book documents Cyrus’s encounters with parents, their children, and even his children and grandchildren, as well as their witty sayings and views of life, many of which have not changed over the years.

“Once you read the book, you will be moved in a number of different ways,” Thomas said, as he gave his review of the work, which got its title from a fax Cyrus received from one of his granddaughters on his 73 birthday.

“Some may see Doctor Grandad as a book about children. This conclusion will be correct and true, but the book is much more.

“Others may see the book as a book for children; this view would also be true, although parents and aspiring parents will find tremendous satisfaction from reading the book,” Thomas added.

Fraser, giving his review, noted that a book of such a kind could only have been written by a person of Cyrus’s character.

“The doctor provides us with fascinating anecdotes of children in the consulting room, their reaction to illness, the stories they told, the letters they wrote later on, and the various tactics they used for a multiplicity of things. Nothing escapes the author’s eyes….

“This work was done out of love, reinforced by a philosophy grounded by and during 38 years of medical practice.

“You will enjoy every bit of this book, and will look differently at the young children of today and women, shaped as they have been, to carry a baby in the womb for nine months, something that in his view elevates them to a position of eminence.”

Meanwhile, the man of the hour, in his simple and humorous style, indicated that the book was in honour of all who came into his office and in effect, had an impact on his life.

“Originally, this book was intended to be an account of my experiences with my little patients… however, I thought it would provide additional interest if I included also some stories of our children and grandchildren.

“Almost daily as the little ones entered my consulting room, they filled it with fun and laughter, healed my present wounds, and shielded against later ones.”

Cyrus thanked the parents and patients, his wife, children and grandchildren for providing him with the material needed to create his book, which he said could not have been accomplished without them.

Following his remarks, Dr Cyrus provided some amusement for the audience, as he narrated a slideshow which gave some insight of what readers were to encounter between the pages of Doctor Grandad.

Here are of few of the quotes and quips made by some of his young patients, whom he lovingly described as parasites.

“….What is bad about these children is that they didn’t break their arms while I was practicing in the day, they engineered it for when I went home to have the little rest I was permitted; they did it on a Saturday or a Sunday or a public holiday. So, when I went away to have my book published Mrs Hadaway told her boys, be careful now, don’t break anything because Dr Cyrus isn’t here. So when they saw me on television they said ‘ah grandpa is back, so we can break our limbs now.’”

“I dared to give her a vaccination or something like that, and she didn’t want to have a thing to do with me, and when her grandmother said that I was coming to the house, she said ‘I don’t want Cecil Cyrus to come here!’ that’s Sabrina Kirby; she used to say her name was Sabrina and Kirby.”

“….In assessing the movement of her eyes I asked her to follow my fingers, she shouted to her daddy: ‘daddy he’s going to hypnotize me!’”

“Paul came home and made the pronouncement one Sunday from Sunday School: ‘there were two weddings, the coffins were lovely.’”

“Jade came home from Sunday School one day she said ‘Mommy heaven is a nice place can we go there after lunch?’”

“Sebastian was learning to count: ‘one, two, three, four, five, six, chicken, eight, nine, ten.’”

Over 20 years ago, Dr Cyrus published his first book, “A Clinical and Pathological Atlas: The Records of a Surgeon n St Vincent, The West Indies. It has received glowing reviews in 10 journals.(JJ)