Written by John McElligott
Being a student a the Duke University School of Medicine PA Program had it’s fair share of good times. This is one of them.
Many of our classes were with the medical students and one in particular was anatomy and anatomy lab. Now this is why the PA’s coming out of Duke were the best of the best except for Charlie and me. We were the greatest of the great!! We made sure that there was a party/pig roast after the major finals at our farm rental houses that had a big volleyball court. Accessories included a refrigerator with a 50 gallon keg of beer alongside a place where we could place a whole pig that was roasted by our friends who worked in the Burn Center with Charlie (CNC) and me. So… we had PA students, Medical Students, Burn Center employees, hyperbaric chamber employees and many residents who were training us in surgery and medicine.
So following drinking and eating the pork, we played volleyball until we were covered with mud. Then we had a wrestling contest that I personally organized and refereed. I challenged all comers to wrestle CNC. Unbeknownst to them that CNC was a high and college wrestling champion. Only loosing one match in 8 years. We had only one challenger. Now CNC weighed 130lbs soaking wet and stranding sideways if he stuck out his tongue he looked like a zipper. Well a former college football player at UNC and now a PA Student said I volunteer. This fellow was 6’2″ and weighed about 210lbs. and we flipped a coin to see who was down and who was on top. College rules (which I did not know) which I would enforce. Bets were made and I said CNC would pin the UNC guy in 2minutes or less. Well CNC was on bottom and UNC guy was on top when I tapped CNC’s head and they were off. Off was the work and the motion by CNC, the UNC guy flew over to the right and was face down in the mud. When he came up for air, CNC flipped him over and put him in a hold that put his ass in the air and his shoulders flat in the mud pit.
I make sure the shoulders were both flat and counted out the guy. I raised CNC’s hand in the air to standing ovations from everyone while saluting CNC with a Beer. In addition to beer, one of our students from California brought a large batch of homemade brownies for the non-drinker. So the afternoon became very exciting to say the least.
That’s my story and I sticking to it!! Go Duke beat Carolina!!