On a Saturday morning in March or April, 2013 I awoke with a killer sore throat, unlike any other that I have had in my 70 years.

On a Saturday morning in March or April, 2013 I awoke with a killer sore throat, unlike any other that I have had in my 70 years. I thought it might be viral so I decided to just wait it out. Sunday morning I awoke with what seriously felt like a propane blowtorch in my throat. My throat was beginning to close and after a little while the pain was so bad I could not swallow. I actually began to panic. It is not possible to explain how frightening the pain was. I could not speak it was so bad. My wife called Terry's cell phone mid morning that Sunday. He instructed me to meet him at his office around noon.

He was there when we arrived, examined me to make sure there was no rupture in my throat and prescribed a course of prednisone and something to ease my throat. I suppose we could have visited the ER at a cost of $1,000 or more but in this case I confirmed having my doctor just a phone away is a great advantage. I will be forever grateful to Dr. Belden for taking such good care of me