Morton Doran

Morton Lawrence Doran , also Mort Doran (born July 5, 1940 in Toronto ), is a retired Canadian doctor who suffers from Tourette's syndrome . Despite this severe handicap , which is accompanied by severe muscle twitching, Doran was a successful surgeon for a long time . He became known worldwide because the neurologist and author Oliver Sacks described this unusual case in a book. In later years, Doran was also a professor of anatomy at the University in Calgary operates.

Life

Morton Doran was born on July 5, 1940 in Toronto. Nothing is known about his birth parents; he was adopted as a toddler by a childless couple. His adoptive parents were the merchant Joseph Doran and his wife Bertha, b. Lipson, Jewish immigrants from England and Russia. Doran grew up in Toronto and developed jerky compulsive movements from the age of seven. Nevertheless, he made the decision early on to study medicine and become a surgeon. Studying was difficult for him largely because of his disability, but he eventually passed the exam and graduated from the University of Toronto in 1964. He spent his assistantship with the Eskimos in northern Canada and thus became a specialist in polar medicine .

Doran married at the age of 28 and had two healthy sons. He worked as a general practitioner for 12 years before becoming a surgeon in the provincial town of Cranbrook , British Columbia . At first he had big problems because his colleagues thought it was impossible for him to operate with his twitching limbs. But Doran proved to them that he had his forced movements completely under control during the operations.

Doran did not realize what illness he was suffering from until he was 37 years old when he overheard a report on Tourette's syndrome on the radio. Doran read everything he could find about it and joined Canada's Tourette Syndrome Foundation . There he gave many lectures and in 1998 wrote a book entitled Understanding Tourette Syndrome . The Mort Doran Research Fund was founded in his honor .

A few years later, Doran was appointed professor of anatomy at the University of Calgary. Despite his very conspicuous behavior, Doran was very popular with students and won many awards for his excellent teaching. Since Doran wanted to keep his residence in Cranbrook, he obtained his pilot's license despite his disability and flew weekly to Calgary to give his lectures. At a scientific conference, Doran met neurology professor Oliver Sacks, who wrote extensive papers on him. Doran became known far beyond Canada.

In 2015, Doran was named a member of the Order of Canada for his many contributions to research into Tourette's syndrome and for his great achievements as a university lecturer .

Awards and honors (selection)

Clinical Adjunct Award (2001)
Gold Star Award (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007)
Students' Union Teaching Excellence Award (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010)
CSMA Letter of Excellence in Teaching (2005, 2010)
Order of Canada (2015)
Honorary member of the Mathison Center for Mental Health Research and Education

Fonts (selection)

Understanding Tourette Syndrome. Tourette Foundation of Canada, 1998, ISBN 978-1-89681301-1 (English).
Tourette's Syndrome doesn't keep BC Surgeon out of operating room. In: Canadian. Medical Association Journal. 145/3, 1991, p. 247 (English).

Web links

Yan Yu, Aravind Ganesh: Calgary surgeon and educator retires. (English)
C. Biondi: The will to overcome and inspire. In: Ucalgary Medicine, Vol. 2, H. 3, Fall 2010 (English).

Individual evidence

↑ Scans of the original documents viewed on ancestry.com on October 7, 2019.
↑ Oliver Sacks: An Anthropologist on Mars. Seven paradoxical stories. Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek 1997, ISBN 978-3-49960242-9 .
↑ Heinrich Zankl: Twitching surgeon . In: Still awesome . Wiley-VCH Verlag, Weinheim 2014, ISBN 978-3-527-33410-0 , pp. 187-192 ( online ).
↑ Torontonensis Graduates, 1964. University of Toronto, 1964, p. 48 , accessed on October 7, 2019 (English, with photo from 1964).
↑ Oliver Sacks, Peter Ginter: Obsessed with "It". In: Geo Magazin , 6. 1993. pp. 108-124.
↑ Appointment of Dr. Doran Member of the Order of Canada, accessed October 2, 2019.
↑ Dr. Morton Doran. The Mathison Center for Mental Health Research and Education, University of Calgary, accessed October 7, 2019 (English, with photo by Doran).

personal data
SURNAME	Doran, Morton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Doran, Morton Lawrence (full name); Doran, Mort; Doran, Morton L.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Canadian medic (surgeon)
DATE OF BIRTH	5th July 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH	Toronto , Canada

[Anc-1] Scans of the original documents viewed on ancestry.com on October 7, 2019.

[2] Oliver Sacks: An Anthropologist on Mars. Seven paradoxical stories. Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek 1997, ISBN 978-3-49960242-9 .

[3] Heinrich Zankl: Twitching surgeon . In: Still awesome . Wiley-VCH Verlag, Weinheim 2014, ISBN 978-3-527-33410-0 , pp. 187-192 ( online ).

[4] Torontonensis Graduates, 1964. University of Toronto, 1964, p. 48 , accessed on October 7, 2019 (English, with photo from 1964).

[5] Oliver Sacks, Peter Ginter: Obsessed with "It". In: Geo Magazin , 6. 1993. pp. 108-124.

[6] Appointment of Dr. Doran Member of the Order of Canada, accessed October 2, 2019.

[7] Dr. Morton Doran. The Mathison Center for Mental Health Research and Education, University of Calgary, accessed October 7, 2019 (English, with photo by Doran).