The Bone Doctor’s Concerto: Music, Surgery, and the Pieces in Between

 A Review of Dr. Alvin H. Crawford's The Bone Doctor’s Concerto: Music, Surgery, and the Pieces in Between

By Rodney D. Coates

 

 

What lies between music and surgery -well, if it is Dr. Alvin H. Crawford, it is nothing but sheer, unadulterated, and extraordinary genius.  Alvin H. Crawford takes us on his journey to fame and glory.  It is a journey that starts in a segregated community built by slaves after the Civil War. Growing up in Orange Mound (in Memphis, Tennessee), Dr. Crawford would traverse the globe, reach the epitome of what a surgeon could be, and achieve a kind of stardom rarely reached by any.  He credits the meteoric rise to “a nurturing environment, education, God-given talents, a supportive family and community, multiracial connections, and just plain luck.”  I would add rugged determination, avid faith, a dream that would not die, and the fortitude of the ancients.  Dr. Alvin H. Crawford is a national treasure, a beacon of hope, and a testament to what can happen when the planets align with God’s plan and your ability to persevere. 

 

But Dr. Alvin H. Crawford is/was not just a medical genius. He was also a celebrated virtuoso.  Crawford could have chosen either path and obtained greatness, instead he walked down both and achieved stardom. Traversing the road paved with rapists, thieves, and addicts, he continued to play his clarinet.  A door opened, and he obtained a music scholarship at Tennessee State University.  On this road, his brother convinced him to go a different route.  Still playing, he also focused on science courses.  The road veered into medical school at the University of Tennessee.  A high school friend had advised him that the only thing the system cannot take from you is your education. 

 

Miracles seemed to follow Alvin throughout his career.  In med school, he treated an older Black man suffering from congestive heart failure and diabetes.  After examining him and prescribing medications, the man shook his hand and said, “God Bless You.”  Two weeks later, the man returned to the clinic, all cured.  Alvin was elated that his prognosis was on target, only to discover that the man had not taken the medicine.  It was his gratitude and elation of having a Black doctor treating him, that provided the “cure”.  Shaking his head, the future Dr. Crawford learned something: a doctor practices medicine, and God and faith provide the cure.   

From here, Dr. Alvin Crawford began to walk out on that faith, meeting some of the most influential surgeons and practitioners. Residencies, military service, and mentoring added star power to his genius. Ultimately, he landed at the University of Cincinnati Hospital, and here, miracles became normal, realities transformed, and patients, families, and professionals could live out their dreams.

 

Dr. Alvin Crawford always remembered who he was, where he came from, and why he was there.  He overcame racial bigotry, hostility, isolation, and negativity.  He demonstrated professionalism, kept sight of his purpose, and held himself and his colleagues to the highest standards.  Ethics, spirituality, science, and hope guided his footsteps and structured his life.  Humility, love, and faithfulness to family, friends, and patients preserved his humanity.  Ultimately, we all, the world, his patients, his peers, and the surgeons that will come after will forever follow his star.  A star that connects the pieces between music and surgery.