By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

Over the years, Dr. Conner Moore heard the same comment again and again: “You’ve really got enough stories for a book.”

Moore, a semi-retired pediatrician from Saco, took the comment to heart and penned “Black Bag to Blackberry, A Maine Pediatrician’s 40 Year Journey.” The biography gives a glimpse into Moore’s work as he shares memorable stories from a career that included trips through blizzards to treat seriously ill children. 

Moore arrived in Saco in 1968 to work with Dr. Maurice Ross, who brought pediatrics to the city. Since then, he has logged more than a quarter-million office visits and treated generations of families.

 “I think Maine is unique because you build relationships with these people. You’re taking care of children and sometimes grandchildren” of former patients, he said. 

Moore – known at Southern Maine Medical Center for his wealth of stories – began to write down his experiences after taking a workshop for aspiring medical writers. With his pet cat as a muse, his collection grew to include dozens of stories of his “heroes,” he said.

“They are the nurses and other caregivers who arrive through blizzards and floods, on nights and weekends, to the hospital and office to heal children. They are the parents of chronically ill children who struggle through countless appointments, mountains of insurance forms, and all-nighters of illness and tears – never giving up,” Moore writes in the book’s introduction. “And finally, there are the brave children with chronic conditions – the ones with missing limbs, colostomies, wheezing lungs and wheelchairs. Come and meet them.” 

Though many doctors change the names of patients in their biographies, Moore sought out each former patient for permission to use their name and story. Moore said several former patients added dialogue and details to stories after reading them. 

He said the decision to write a book was easy.

“Some of these kids were just hospitalized so much there was no question these were stories that had to be told,” he said. 

Moore said his favorite stories in the book are about injecting humor into the daily lives of chronically ill children. One chapter fondly remembers Jessi Wheeler, who died of cystic fibrosis at 12. All profits from the book will be donated to Jessi’s Gift to provide nursing scholarships to Kennebunk High School students. 

When Moore thinks of Jessi, he remembers a girl who endured a “12-year odyssey of pain, laughter and tears.” He treated Jessi her entire life, often during extended stays in the hospital. Jessi, he said, was known to roam the halls of the hospital wearing a fake leg cast.

“The hospital should have rebated her insurance company for missed meals and unslept-in beds. There was a 50-50 chance of finding her when making rounds,” Moore writes. “Jessi did many routine tasks and had her own Florence Nightingale cap and nametag. She felt that she was owed an associate degree.” 

Moore said Jessi lightened the mood of the medical staff with her weekly trick nights. Often, doctors would find she had stashed green slime in their medical bags.

“You can’t look stern and foreboding when you have green slime all over your coat,” Moore said. 

Moore said his favorite Jessi story exemplifies the wisdom of chronically ill children. 

“A lot of these kids have wisdom beyond their years,” he said. 

Moore stopped by Jessi’s hospital room and found her using a small sewing machine to stitch a border of ducks on a pillowcase. He questioned what she was doing, afraid there might be a hospital rule against decorating linens.

“She sort of looked into my soul and said ‘so what?’” he said. 

After Moore’s book was published, the staff of Southern Maine Medical Center decided to collect stories from patients and parents about how he touched their lives. Moore was named SMMC’s Caregiver of the Year in 2004. Those who know Moore are encouraged to log on to www.smmc.org to share a funny tale, poignant moment or simple act.

“Black Bag to Blackberry” is available locally at BrysonTaylorPublishing.com, Nonesuch Books in Biddeford and Marlow’s in Kennebunk. The book also can be ordered from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.