Dr. David Paul: My Next HI Achiever.
Dr. Paul was Jackson’s endocrinologist at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH). We met him on day three of our initial hospital stay, and he was with us for the long haul for many hospitalizations after.
I still remember the first time he walked into the PCU room. He took the lead in the conversation, and I stopped him.
“What is your name, and what is your role?”
Everything was a whirlwind… doctors and nurses coming and going like a revolving door. Everything was running together, and I couldn’t make sense of all the possibilities. But by that morning, I was ready.
I had a pen and paper in my hands, writing down everything he said. I wanted to know it all.
So many things were new.
So many things were unknown.
I was overwhelmed.
I was scared.
My son was sick, and I didn’t know why.
Initially, I refused to Google anything. Told family and friends that if they did internet searches, to please keep us out of the loop. I couldn’t go down a rabbit hole. I needed facts.
Dr. Paul was my main source of information.
He was going to figure this out, and I trusted that.
The Whiteboard Wall & A Doctor Who Listens
By the second morning, when Dr. Paul did rounds, this is what he walked into (see photo below).
I realized the hospital room wall could act as a whiteboard. Our PCU nurse, Renee, gave me a marker, and I went all in.
You can’t see the other five feet of notes to the left of the picture. I needed to visualize it all, to make sense of everything.
Some doctors walked in and chuckled, joking that I looked like I was cramming for an exam.
Some were impressed.
Some didn’t even notice.
Dr. Paul?
He saw my notes and went through them, line by line.
Every. Single. Day.
He never rushed me.
There were times he’d stop by after his rounds, sometimes for an extra hour or more—just to answer my questions. We discussed research papers, case studies, and random thoughts I had in the middle of the night.
A doctor who doesn’t rush you?
A doctor who cares about what you think?
A doctor who engages a mother’s “Google doctorate”? (Yes, eventually, I gave in and started doing online searches).
He’s one of a kind.
An Unsung Hero in the HI World
I liked Dr. Paul right off the bat.
You can see the wheels turning when he’s faced with a complex issue. There’s no mistaking his candor or his intelligence.
Naturally, I searched for information about him online, expecting to find his name all over the Hyperinsulinism world, but my search came up empty.
Not that I need a doctor to have a shelf full of awards to be “experienced” enough to treat my kid, but I was surprised he wasn’t more widely recognized.
Dr. Paul has been treating HI since the 90s.
He has seen and treated more HI kids than most endocrinologists will in their entire careers.
So, while you won’t see his name in big fancy lights, he’s an unsung hero in the HI world.
And in our world, he’s a legend.
Beyond the Hospital Walls
Since our initial hospital stay, Dr. Paul has continued to be an incredible doctor.
✅ He’s visited Jackson during hospitalizations that weren’t even endo-related.
✅ He’s humored me by answering far too many emails and random questions.
✅ He’s introduced us to other amazing doctors.
✅ He’s advocated for us when Jackson was ambulanced to a hospital that was scared to treat him because they had never had an HI patient before.
✅ He’s answered texts on weekends when I was terrified.
Far more than any doctor in any other capacity would have ever done.
A Steady Anchor in the Storm
I truly can’t imagine going through this journey with another doctor.
And trust me, we’ve met a lot of them.
Even other experts.
They were all great, fantastic, even.
But they’re not him.
Not only has he been amazing for Jackson, but he has pushed me to be a critical thinker. Honestly? He makes me wish I had pursued a career in medicine.
Since August 2016, our lives have been unpredictable.
It often feels like we’re caught in a tornado… twisting, turning, at an unpredictable pace.
And the one thing anchoring us down?
Him.
He keeps my fears in check because I know my son is in the best hands possible.
I can ask anything, no matter how silly it may seem to me, and he’s right there to answer.
Dr. Paul will do whatever it takes to keep Jackson safe and healthy.
And I trust him with Jackson’s life.
There’s no better feeling in the world than that.
We have HI hopes 