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Decades before he was the director of endoscopy and a Top Doc at Norwalk Hospital, Dr. Dennis Meighan was a carefree kid playing on the farms around Rocky Hill. The Weston resident's path to medicine would come from a respect for the doctor who kept him healthy and hearty through those years.
I had a couple of medical issues when I was young, the types of things that just happen to kids, Meighan said while relaxing in his office at the hospital. He was just a good guy, kind of a Norman Rockwell type of character.
Meighan recalls how the doctor would make house calls to the various farms in the Connecticut community. He was there when children were born, and if they had to go to the hospital for surgery, it wasnt uncommon for him to accompany them. Despite the deep respect that helped form Meighans decision to pursue medicine, he cant recall his inspirations first name. I remember it was Dr. Walker, he said, trying to recall the full name. After a moment he conceded he couldnt bring it to memory. When I was a kid you werent allowed to use first names.
The 55-year-old doctors office itself betrays a penchant for the past. A set of microcassettes sits piled on the desk. He and his transcriptionist prefer them to modern digital recorders. The last time I was at Radio Shack I saw they only had two microcassette recorders left. I bought them both, he said laughing.
Despite an admiration for the old days, Meighan embraces new technologies as a physician. As the director of endoscopy he is keenly aware of the advances made in gastrointestinal medicine. Some of the leaps and bounds mean that Meighan and the hospitals Gastroenterology team can, through early detection, remove polyps before they become deadly colon cancers. Everyone over 50 should be screened and receive a colonoscopy, according to Meighan. His work in the field earned him recognition as a Top Doc by Connecticut Magazine.
While Norwalk is far busier than the Rocky Hill of Meighans youth, he did seek something a bit more familiar for his home. We picked Weston because it was pretty rural, he said.
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