When Dr. Agnes Gomes finished one of her first appointments as a pediatrician at the Grand Island Clinic, her patient looked up at his mother. Mom, he asked. When is the doctor going to get here?

Forty-one years of practice later and Gomes patients have flipped the stereotype. Now they ask about a doctors arrival when theyre treated by male pediatricians.

Weve come full circle, Gomes laughed.

For over 41 years Gomes has broken barriers and formed bonds at the Grand Island Clinic, but her full circle began thousands of miles away from Nebraska, when Gomes started medical school as a teenager in India.

Gomes father suffered a stroke from hypertension and her brother died when he was young. Gomes said she knew she wanted to be a part of preventing the illnesses that had impacted her family.

No family should ever have to lose a child, Gomes said.

So she began medical school as a 16-year-old, which Gomes said was unusual for a female in India.

My father was asked, Why are you wasting your time and money on a daughter? Gomes said. But my father had always told us that education was the most important thing. Nobody can take that away from you, he told us.

Gomes lessons emphasized treating patients regardless of who they were, or how much money they might have.

We learned we were doing a service to humanity, Gomes said. We were there because we wanted to help and to heal.

Gomes brought that mentality to the United States when she and her husband traveled to Connecticut for their residency trainings, and she brought it to Grand Island when they landed here in 1975.

Gomes and her husband didnt intend to stay in the United States permanently, but she said the country made it easy for them to do what they wanted to do.

In India you have to worry about patients paying upfront, and if they cant pay you cant treat them, Gomes said. In the United States, the hospital is just the place that takes care of you.

When the couple began to look around, a co-resident from Gomes program recommended Nebraska.

Where in the world is Nebraska? Gomes wondered.

But when she and her husband visited Grand Island, they were persuaded by its kind and welcoming people.

Over her years, every patient has been different and beautiful. Watching the children grow has been an honor that I have never taken lighten lightly, she said.

Like her father, Gomes values education. She encourages every patient to make the most of their education and talents, and she pushes every parent to give their children opportunities.

Every child has potential, Gomes said. And getting that potential out is up to the adults.

Seeing children reach their capabilities has been the reward of Gomes 52 years in medicine, and she said she hoped people would continue to see the value in a childs potential.

Sometimes people dont realize that children are the future of a nation, Gomes said. If we invest in children we will never go wrong.

The last month at the Grand Island Clinic before Gomes retirement was bittersweet.

You dont realize the impact you have on people, or the impact they have on you, she said.

Gomes said it would be hard to say goodbye to her patients, after years of trust and treatment.

And it will be hard for her patients to say goodbye to her, too. One little girl told Gomes her retirement was no problem; she could just come straight to Gomes house.

And I dont think she was joking, Dr. J.D. Law said. I feel like shes going to show up in Aggies garage.

Law is a pediatrician at the Grand Island Clinic and said Gomes passion was part of what persuaded him to become a pediatrician.

Law remembered Gomes staying hours after close with patients, approaching every child as if they were the days first patient and earning the nickname the baby whisperer for her ability to make every child comfortable.

Every kid is her grandchild, Law said. She shows that compassion every day, which was very inspiring to me and made me say, Yes, this is something I want to do for the rest of my life.

With Gomes entering retirement, Law said her colleagues joke that the clinic will have to hire three doctors to replace her.

So as three doctors do her work, Gomes will enjoy peace and quiet and time with her family, She wants to be involved with volunteering in the community but, Gomes said. It has to involve children.

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Dr. Agnes Gomes retires after 52 years in pediatric medicine - Grand Island Independent