A Grand Slam Life: A Physician Gets Covid, Finds His Way, and Works to Transform a Texas Community

by Milton Haber M.D.

A workaholic physician for more than 30 years, often at the expense of family, Milton Haber defied convention in his internal medicine practice in marginalized Laredo, Texas. House calls, groceries, cash, prescriptions, birthday cakes, Thanksgiving turkeys, and paying utility bills for patients were common occurrences, as was his quest to do more.In 2018 he founded Laguna Clinical Research Associates, helping thousands of South Texans by partnering with drug companies to execute clinical trials. Laguna partnered with Moderna in 2020 to execute the COVID-19 vaccine trials, a challenging feat in a minority community that mistrusts science. Catching the virus himself, the doctor spent a week in intensive care, in and out of consciousness and under pandemic rules totally alone. He thought deeply about family, friends, and death. The experience broke him wide open to the intrinsic power of love. It underscored the importance of the vaccine. It revealed on practical and spiritual levels the disposition needed for all of us to live together in a drastically altered post-COVID world.

124 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 21, 2021

Reviews

[Mb · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Haber describes his mischievous childhood and his unexpected journey into medicine. He writes about how he became a doctor, established his own practice, and even co-founded a medical research company. Within the book, there are photographs of Haber’s life and testimonials given by his colleagues. It is a brief and interesting autobiography.

[Alta Cloete · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the life story of Dr. Haber, especially the way that his life seemed to lead to the point where he was perfectly placed for his work in his community and specifically concerning vaccination against Covid-19 and other dangerous diseases.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a memoir-style book, following the family, the involvement with the clinical trials in Laredo, Texas, and the extra struggle when catching COVID-19. This is an in-depth perspective about pursuing a career that gives back. The book is well-written and well-structured, referencing chapters in others to allow readers to find the information they want, such as reading ahead to learn about internships and links between medicine and partaking in sports.

The book centres predominantly around life instead of a lesson learned about the pandemic. While this makes the book more personable and intimate, the book could have explored further the relationship between Laguna and Moderna and how the partnership affected the residents of Laredo, Texas, as well as the rest of the world. This is ideal for anyone interested in pursuing a career in medicine or healthcare research.

This is also a good read for those who were and are still worried about the future regarding COVID-19. Reading this book amid the pandemic could have been quite tough and daunting, particularly when trying to comprehend what it meant to have COVID-19, but the Moderna vaccine is explained as well as its benefits.


I received a free review copy. Thank you to OnlineBookClub and author.