Bill Klaproth (Host): Today, we're getting to know Dr. Sarah Weatherspoon, a Pediatric Neurologist at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital. This is the Peds Pod by Le Bonheur Children's Hospital. I'm Bill Klaproth. Dr. Weatherspoon, welcome.

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: Thanks, Bill. Great to be here.

Host: Well, it's going to be great to get to know you a little bit better, Dr. Weatherspoon, as we enjoy getting to know the person behind the doctor. So we're excited to get to know a little bit more about you. So thank you so much for your time today. So what drew you to the field of pediatric neurology?

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: You know, a lot of people find the brain to be really puzzling and it is a puzzle. And fortunately, I really enjoy puzzles and solving puzzles. So when I see somebody coming in with some unusual symptoms and we're having trouble figuring it out, maybe nobody else has been able to piece it together, I love getting all those little pieces of information from them, putting that big picture together, and hopefully coming up with a diagnosis and a good treatment plan based on that.

Host: It's interesting to hear you say it's a puzzle and you enjoy doing that. So when people do come in or people bring their children in that have symptoms that are puzzling, if you will, that's when you really shine and go to work. That's interesting. So when it comes to patient care, what is your philosophy?

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: Several things come to mind when I think about what makes a good patient physician relationship. You know, when people come into the neurology clinic, a parent or guardian with their child, they're usually very worried. They're very scared. A lot of people are scared about things that involve the brain, their child's development, things like seizures, and I feel like my job is to walk with them through that process to provide the support they need, to provide the knowledge they need, and the information they need.

I think a lot of times what I hear from families is that they didn't know the why about the treatment plan. Nobody told them why we chose a certain medicine or how did we arrive at this diagnosis in the first place. So I find for myself, my practice pattern is to just share with them my inner thoughts, my inner monologue about why? How did I get to this diagnosis? What am I thinking? How did I arrive at this? And why would I recommend that their child start a new medicine? That's scary for a lot of families. They want to really feel like this is the best decision for their child. That those risks are outweighed by those potential benefits.

And so my job, I feel like, is to partner with that family, to give them those whys and give them those reasons so that they feel like that we are in this together and I'm going to walk with them through that process as we try to get their child better.

Host: So it sounds like you kind of pull back the curtain and share your thoughts and your why this is happening, and that really does put them at ease, is that, or give them a sense of comfort, would that be right?

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: Absolutely. I think people don't like to just be dictated to about what to do. They really want to understand the thought process. And especially when we're in pediatrics and you have a parent who's trying to make the best decision for their child. And I assume every parent is there wanting to make the best decision for their child, to make sure their child is safe, to make sure their child is getting the best care.

And so I want them to have that confidence when we're talking together, by knowing that that's my intent as well, is to help their child, to never put their child through some sort of, unneeded risk or unneeded medication, that the reason that we might choose to do a certain test or choose a certain medication to start, that there are good reasons for that.

And people want that information, I've found, in general. They don't want to be, like I said, dictated to just do this because I said so and I'm the doctor. They really want to say no, that we're partnering together in the decision making process.

Host: Did you know early on that you wanted to be a physician? And how did you come to becoming a pediatric neurologist? At what point did you say, you know what, this is what I want to specialize in?

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: That's a great question. So when I was younger, I actually wanted to be a pianist. I played piano since I was four. I loved music. I loved classical music. And then when I got into college, I discovered the neurosciences. And that's where the puzzle piece came in is trying to understand how the brain works.

What makes people who they are? And the brain really is the main driver in that. And I found that so fascinating. And I didn't really think about becoming a physician right away. I thought I might want to do research instead. And then what I found that through medicine, I could have relationships with families. I could have that social component and that emotional component, that I could still do research, which I really love trying to, again, get to the answers of really difficult questions. And then I actually found that music played a big part in that. One thing that I do in particular is I take care of children with epilepsy or seizure disorders.

And part of that is reading certain kinds of tests called EEGs or electroencephalograms. Those are brainwave studies. When I'm looking at those EEGs, I'm looking for patterns, and for me, it's almost like reading music. It's finding some sort of emerging melody or pattern that lets me understand what's going on with that child.

So all of that really came together; a love for research, a love for music, an enjoyment of being with other people that led me to find that medicine, and specifically neurology, was the perfect fit for me.

Host: That's very interesting how you tie music into this and reading the EEG and other things. That's very interesting. I'm wondering, obviously your profession is very rewarding, but if you weren't practicing medicine, would you have gotten into music? You said you were a pianist as well growing up.

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: You know, I actually, my other big love is just being outside. So I have this, other job that if I could do something else, would it be to be a park ranger. I would love to work at Rocky Mountain National Park or Yellowstone, to be outside all day, to be hiking, to be teaching other people about the outdoors.

Whenever I can get away, one of my favorite places to go is someplace like Colorado or someplace with mountains. That's where I find a lot of peace, a lot of joy, and a lot of beauty. So I think that would be my other career would be a, uh, being a park ranger somewhere.

Host: Maybe you could have been the first pianist park ranger.

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: You never know.

Host: That would have been interesting. You could have been playing on the mountaintop.

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: That sounds beautiful. Maybe when I retire, I'll be the first neurologist park ranger.

Host: Yes, and we want to see pictures of you on that mountaintop playing that piano and reading the EEG at the same time. So, who is somebody that inspires you?

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: That is such a great question. I feel like we get those inspirations from multiple levels. My mentor and the director of our division here, Jim Wheelis, has been a huge input in my life, teaching me how to practice epilepsy, giving me that knowledge base, but also just seeing how he interacts with patients, how he leads others, how he interfaces on a national and international level has taught me a lot and opened doors for me to be able to do similar things. So, he's been a big influence in my life. Many of my patients, of course, serve as amazing inspiration every day when I see families taking up the gauntlet of caring for a child with sometimes a really severe illness and doing so with such commitment, in the spite of a lot of challenges. And I think about that as I take care of my own two daughters, how can I be the best mom to them? How can I be committed to their well being as I watch others take care of their children when they come to our clinic?

Host: So, you mentioned you have two daughters. I'm curious, how do you spend your free time? I bet that is kind of a full time job as well.

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: Yes, absolutely. I have two little girls, currently 10 and 7 years old. And we love to, again, be outside. We go on walks. We walk our dogs. We go on bike rides together as a family. So, those are some of the fun things we get to do with the girls is just to get out and play. Get off our devices, get off our screen time, and try to be using our creative minds to do different things and enjoy the world around us.

Host: So, you're sharing your love of nature with your daughters.

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: Exactly.

Host: Yeah. And so, if you could hop on a plane and travel anywhere tomorrow, where would you go?

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: Goodness. That's a really tough question. There are a lot of places I would love to go to. So probably for me would be somewhere in the mountains, like the Alps, getting into Europe. Just being out there and getting to do some good hiking in a new place, in a unique place.

Host: Yeah, that sounds fun. So are you a lover of live music? What was the last band you saw perform live?

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: Yeah, being here in Memphis, the home of the blues, there's a lot of great music that comes through. But the last person I saw was actually Willie Nelson. I saw him about five months ago. The Avett Brothers opened for him, and then Willie Nelson, who you know, he's been around a while. He got out there on the stage, sat in a chair with his guitar, and he just went through one after another of his very famous songs.

And it was just amazing to see such a music legend out there playing. So it was fantastic.

Host: So being a pianist, I could see your love of music. Do you have a favorite piano player?

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: I don't have a favorite piano player. I had favorite composers, certainly. Growing up, I loved Beethoven. That was one of my favorites to play. And I always thought he was such an incredible person to be able to write such beautiful music. And then, of course, he became deaf later on in life and lost that capability of hearing, but still produced such incredible music.

And you can hear that change in the tenor of the songs throughout his career. And so I've just found that to be very soothing sometimes when I'm feeling stressed out or I need to just relax. I'll sit down at my piano and those are the pieces I choose to play.

Host: Is there anything you want anyone to know about something about you that I haven't asked?

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: You know, I just love what I do and I love where I get to do it at here at Le Bonheur. When I think about other places that other people may practice, I really know that practicing medicine here is what I love to do because I get to take good care of patients, I get to do research, I get to have great colleagues in neurology and other divisions, and I get to live in a great place where people are really friendly.

So this has just been an amazing place for me and I hope other people enjoy coming here as well.

Host: Absolutely. As we wrap up, Dr. Weatherspoon, is there anything you want to add?

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: No, I think that's about it, Bill. Thank you so much for having me today.

Host: No, it's been a pleasure getting to know you and thank you for the great work that you do at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital. Thanks again.

Sarah Weatherspoon, MD: Thank you.

Host: And once again, that is Dr. Sarah Weatherspoon, and be sure to subscribe to The Peds Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. You can also check out lebonheur.org/podcast to view our full podcast library. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels. This is The Peds Pod by Le Bonheur Children's Hospital. Thanks for listening.