Mary Suzanne Whitworth, MD

When I was in medical school I was fascinated by pathology and wanted to understand medical diagnoses in a very detailed way at the cellular level. I thought learning about different lung and heart diseases in adults during the first two years of medical school was fascinating. I also thought pediatrics involved runny noses and ear infections. So I chose to rotate through pediatrics first in order to get it out of the way early. But...

I fell in love with all the complexities of pediatric medicine--children are just as complicated medically as adults are! In fact, in many cases they are more so, because their bodies are constantly growing and changing. More importantly they are much more fun than adults!

I never looked back after that part of my training. I was fully focused on learning all I could about children after that.

Children are what make this job so very special to me. They smile and laugh through almost everything. I enjoy caring for patients who are really ill and seeing them fully recover. Pediatric infectious diseases has been a very rewarding choice.

Being a mom has also helped me to become more sensitive to the challenges that the parents of the kids I treat are facing. Early in my career I was a single mother for a few years. I think that made me more empathic to the difficulties these mothers face. Raising a family under any circumstances can be very rewarding and very trying--all at the same time. It is my goal to give families support--medically and emotionally.

I have been blessed with a wonderful husband and two beautiful grown children. When I'm away from work, I love spending time with my family and friends. I'm also very involved in our church.