Alva Review-Courier -

In normal times, a new physician in Alva would be welcomed with a public reception. But these are not normal times. Instead Dr. Bryce Galbraith, DO, moved right into seeing patients. His office hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The phone number is 580-430-3333.

Galbraith said he fell in love with Alva on his first visit. "It just felt right," he said. Smiling behind his mask, he suggested we call him Bryce or Doctor G.

His new offices in Suite A of the Professional Building are not quite finished despite the best efforts of Share Medical Center. Refurbishing and decorating of the space began early in anticipation of his arrival. Office staff was hired and trained. But COVID-19 has caused delays in obtaining many materials.

On Thursday, carpet was being laid in his office behind the reception area. Some spots in the hallway are still awaiting baseboards. Despite the carpet work, the reception area was calm and tranquil with a somewhat eastern Asian feel. With his office occupied by carpet layers, Dr. Galbraith invited us into the small breakroom to talk.

Born in Westminister, Colorado, a Denver suburb, Galbraith spent his early years in the greater Denver area other than a couple of stints in Kansas City and Salina, Kansas. His father was a door to door vacuum cleaner salesman so the family went wherever there was an opportunity.

During his junior high and high school years, Galbraith lived in Utah. After graduating high school, he went on a two year mission to Brazil for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. About two months after his return, he married his high school sweetheart. He and Syrie (sounds like the iPhone but spelled differently) have been married 15 years. They have two children, a son age 10 and a daughter age 4.

For about five years, Galbraith followed his father into the vacuum cleaner sales business. Deciding he didn't want to do that for the rest of his life, he enrolled at Weaver State University in Ogden, Utah, where he graduated with a degree in zoology. The university didn't offer the usual biology major.

He was accepted into medical school in Las Vegas, Nevada. From there he went for a residency in family medicine to Westminister, Colorado, in the same hospital where he was born. As his three year residency was coming to an end, Doctor G was looking for opportunities around the country. He received an email about Alva.

After a visit and interview, he and his wife decided Alva was right for them. "We were super excited about it," he said. "I've always wanted to deal with the full spectrum." In his family practice specialty, he's ready to treat all ages "from the cradle to the grave and anything in between."

In addition, Galbraith has been trained in obstetrics and has delivered a lot of babies although he won't be doing that here. "I have done a lot of training with pediatrics as well so I'm very comfortable with kids and look forward to treating them," he said.

Why Medicine?

A high school trauma led to Galbraith's interest in medicine, especially sports medicine. "When I was a senior in high school, I broke my back," he said. "I was a wrestler. It was frustrating because I was ranked number one in the state of Utah. I was supposed to take state that year.

"I'd taken sixth as a freshman, third as a sophomore, third as a junior. The stars were aligned for me to be number one that year, and then I broke my back. It was a very humbling experience."

Galbraith lost strength in his left arm and could hardly do anything. "I kept wrestling because they did x-rays and missed a fracture," he said. He just didn't have the strength needed and ended up not even placing that year. "I was just super frustrated and really in an almost depressive state," he said.

Galbraith consulted a sports medicine physician who helped him get through the healing process and regain his strength. "I started wrestling again, I was better. They wild-carded me in the (national) tournament that year because of my previous years' history," he said. Even though he didn't place at state, he placed eighth at nationals and was named an All American his senior year.

That experience "made me so appreciative of what doctors can do, and that made me want to go down that route," Galbraith said.

Best and Worst

Asked what he likes best about medicine, Galbraith said, "I love being in the service of others. I believe that when you're in the service of other people that you really are in the service of God. It's a big thing for me, religion is. It's important. I just like being in the service of others basically, trying to help others."

Doctor G had to think a bit about what he dislikes most about medical practice. "During residency, I'd say there were a few times when I got a little frustrated 28 hours into a shift. You're just super tired and don't want to deal with things," he said. "For the most part, I'd say there's not anything that sets me off. I do enjoy the work."

Specialties

While Galbraith sees his move to Alva as "a great opportunity for me," he believes he has a lot to offer the community as well. As a doctor of osteopathy (DO), he does a lot of what's called OMT (osteopathic manipulative treatment). He describes it as kind of a mix of chiropractic, physical therapy and massage therapy.

"As a DO, we spend 500 extra hours in med school learning hands on techniques to try and help the body heal itself," he said. "I spent extra rotations and through residency, I would see two to three patients a day when I was in clinic doing OMT. So I feel pretty good and pretty versed in helping treat a lot of pain, whether it's low back pain, headaches, back pain in general, hip pain, things like that."

He says OMT is "an alternative to just giving pain meds and waiting for things to get better. It's a way to help people heal themselves faster." He said OMT doesn't replace chiropractors and other therapists. "I think they both help each other out."

Galbraith is also well versed in sports medicine. He went down that route first and has a lot of extra training in it. However, he found stiff competition for a limited number of openings. His extra training in that area has made him comfortable with giving injections to alleviate sports-related injuries.

With his interest in sports medicine, Galbraith is looking forward to his additional work with the sports teams at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

Family

The Galbraith family is already settling into life in Alva. Doctor G's son will be starting fifth grade this fall. His daughter would be the youngest in her preschool so they're debating keeping her home for one more year.

For now Galbraith said, his wife Syrie has "the hard job" taking care of the kids and house. When time permits, she plans on attending NWOSU, probably in chemistry, to finish her education.

For fun, the family enjoys playing board games. They have a lot of them. The parents and ten-year-old play games "all the time." Sometimes they play Candyland or Chutes and Ladders to include the four-year-old. They like to invite friends over for game nights. They also enjoy movies and going out to movies.

"We're big foodies," said Galbraith. "We've tried a few of the restaurants around like Café Bahnhof and a few of the other places. We like doing pretty much anything outdoors as well. We've been to the salt flats a couple of times and dug up crystals. We went to the caves, but my mother-in-law's knee was hurting so we didn't actually go into them yet. We plan on doing that sometime."