Darin C. Orr DC CMT MD CCFP

William M. Glenn

Dr Darin Orr’s legs ache. It’s been 2 weeks since he won 9 medals in the Southern Alberta Summer Games—in high jump, long jump, several target shooting events, and the 50-, 100-, and family 4 × 100–m relay races—and it still hurts too much to squat down. His family thinks it’s hilarious.

“I loved track and field back when I was in high school, but I haven’t trained for any of these events since the early 1990s,” he groans. “It was lucky that there weren’t too many of us competing in the 36 to 55 age class.”

The highlight at the end of a long, exhausting day was the family relay race. Dr Orr partnered with 3 of his 6 children: daughter Brinley (age 13), son Tad (12)—the fastest in the family, and son Graden (15) running the crucial anchor leg. His wife and “best friend in the world,” Jen, cheered from the sidelines, along with Malcolm (10), Deklan (6), and Zara (5).

The night before, they had practised passing the baton—actually a big wooden spoon—around the kitchen. But other than 15 seconds of pre-race stretching, “that’s all the preparation we had,” Dr Orr laughs. “I thought we would get blown away, but we ended up with the best time of the day. It felt great working as a team.”

It’s not surprising that there hasn’t been a lot of spare time for track over the past 20 years. A bachelor’s degree in biochemistry in 1998 was followed by 4 years’ training at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto, Ont, and another year in massage therapy in Medicine Hat, Alta. Yet less than a year into practice, Dr Orr already wanted more. “Chiropractic is fun, rewarding work, but it just didn’t scratch the itch I felt,” he says. “My wife didn’t believe me when I told her I wanted to go back to medical school for another 6 years!”

Today, he’s finally settled into a busy new family practice “with 5 great partners.” There are more than enough new challenges—including some surgical assistance and minor surgery, obstetrics, and long-term care—to keep Dr Orr from getting bored for a long time. And there’s even been some time for a few extras, like the first real vacation he and Jennifer have ever managed, a 7-day trip to Costa Rica. “It’s been so busy,” he says. “I believe in balance—I haven’t really achieved it yet—but I believe in it!”

“It felt great working as a team”

PHOTOS (OPPOSITE, TOP LEFT TO BOTTOM RIGHT): Dr Orr with Dr David Koegler, nurse Katie Koegler, nurse Sue Jordison (in the role of a patient), patient Carol Vold, and nurse Tammy Acton.

PHOTOS (RIGHT): Dr Orr playing soccer with his family: (back row, left to right) Tad, Graden, Dr Orr, his wife, Jen, and Brinley; (front row) Zara, Deklan, and Malcolm. Dr Orr with Dr David Koegler (left).

Footnotes

Dr Orr is a family physician in a diverse small group practice in Lethbridge, Alta.
PHOTOS: Curtis Comeau, Edmonton, Alta
STORY/TEXTE: William M. Glenn, Toronto, Ont
THE COVER PROJECT Canadian Family Physician has embarked on a project to assemble the portrait of family medicine in Canada. Each cover of the journal features a family physician chosen at random from our membership list, along with a short essay—a brief glimpse of the person and the practice. Over time, the randomness will become representative and the differences, taken together, will define what it is that all family physicians have in common.