by Anna Marchetti
He has treated more than 5,000 children and welcomed and reassured their approximately 10,000 parents: at the end of this month, after 40 years of practice, family pediatrician Gabriele Tonelli will retire. An important milestone that comes at the age of 70, even if Dr. Tonelli will continue to practice privately. “I will continue to practice for a few more years, but at a more relaxed pace. In our profession, we do not dictate the times, but the patients do, between visits to the clinic with very long hours, phone calls, messages, WhatsApp and emails. Parents do not give discounts when it comes to their children’s health”.
Is it easier for a pediatrician to communicate with mothers or fathers?
“We work with mothers 90% of the time. They are the ones who bring their children to visits and are always attentive, sometimes a little apprehensive. Fathers, on the other hand, never know anything and always have to ask their wives.”
Doctor Tonelli, how many children have come into your practice over the years?
“In 40 years I estimate I have visited at least 5,000, maybe even more. I have many former patients who bring me their children, in fact in some cases we are at the second generation”.
Is there any case that you remember with particular affection?
“I have had several special cases but there are two children whose lives I think I saved. I still get the shivers when I remember that both of them, these are fairly recent stories, had come to the clinic for periodic check-ups but the visit revealed a tumor pathology. Today they are well thanks to timely surgical interventions. These are two episodes that have touched me deeply and that move me”.
After the age of 14, does he lose track of his patients or does he continue to be a point of reference for older children?
“There are several young people aged 18-20 who still turn to me for advice even though when they turn 14 they move from a pediatrician to a general practitioner. In fact, in one of the most critical age groups, between 14 and 18, there is a risk of a healthcare gap due to the fact that general practitioners have so many elderly people under their care.”
As a pediatrician, how did you experience the Covid years?
“It was tough but not at the level of GPs. Luckily I didn’t have any children with serious problems caused by Covid, in any case it was a dark period”.
Does the Dengue emergency in Fano worry parents?
“Initially there was concern but it subsided with the arrival of bad weather and the drop in temperatures. However, it is a potentially serious but not life-threatening pathology that in most cases, even if it lasts several days, heals spontaneously”
Are your children doctors too?
“My daughter Lisa is a pediatrician and works alongside me in the same clinic, while the youngest is an emergency room doctor.”
How would you define your 40 years of profession?
“Intense but full of satisfaction. These days I’m receiving so many demonstrations of affection.”