Our Family Doctor
I first found Dr Susan Bienert in 2004 on an Internet search. We appreciated her University of Virginia training. I liked her immediately after my first appointment and my wife did as well. This was something special for us, having been in the military for all our adult lives and then wandering through outpatient clinics and occasional specialists. We were missing having a family doctor like we had when we were young and in one place. So, she ultimately became our "Family Doctor". We have stayed with her since then and when she established a MDVIP relationship. We plan on continuing with her.
Not long after we started with Doctor Bienert, she identified several areas where I could try to make healthy improvements to my life. I resisted, particularly in quitting smoking, but she did not let up then, nor has she over the last 16 years. She and I have been able to reduce my chronic gout to basically an afterthought. This was a real life improvement for me. She got me started on improving my weight.. still working on that one. But happily, I have been a former 50 year smoker for 2 and a half years now. with no relapse. All of this is just pretty mundane stuff for most people I guess.
When I started with Susan Bienert, my only surgery was a tonsil removal in 1950. Nothing after that and no broken bones, not even a night in the hospital for 54 years. No life threatening diseases. But suddenly, in 2004 shortly after Dr Bienert became our Family Doctor, I was facing major surgery for a bilateral hip replacement at the age of 57. Dr Bienert got me ready, cleared for that, and obviously was there for me through the surgery and recovery. Life moved on without incident until I started some skin cancer bouts which were originally identified by Dr Bienert during an annual and she referred me to specialist. These have been taken care of as necessary and they continue as is their nature after years of sun damage. She has always been able to get us to the appropriate people who could not only get the job done, but also be what I consider superior in their areas.
Then my PSA was elevated in one or the other physicals. Ultimately, my urologist found Gleason 7 prostate cancer. Dr Bienert helped me to weigh my options, get me to consultants , and talk about my decisions. I settled on surgery, and have been cancer undetectable for almost 2 and a half years now. I will be 73 soon. Its been a long time since I started with Dr Bienert. I hope I'll be with her for the rest of my time. She is a great resource and advisor, and a real partner in the management of our lives. She is available and I have often used email to keep connected since we moved father away and needed to reduce our visit frequency. So, I feel like she is always there. She is Super!. I thank her very much for taking such good care of my wife and myself.