Dr. Tom Oliver was enjoying his first day off in three weeks. His dog was barking in the background, obviously happy to have his companion around for more than just a few hours.
This is what happens in the middle of a pandemic when medical personnel like Oliver are needed to save lives. The former Purdue golfer, a member of coach Devon Brouse’s program from 2006-09, is doing his best along with employees at Main Life Health outside of Philadelphia who deal with the coronavirus on an hourly basis.
Oliver is a chief resident and academic hospitalist at the medical center located in Wynnewood, dealing with 12 to 15 patients on a given day. The native of Nottingham, England, who made a hole-in-one during his career at Purdue, is at the forefront of this worldwide battle.
“We’ve been hit quite hard,” Oliver said. “But we’ve managed to flatten the curve a little bit.”
Along with taking care of patients, Oliver builds out surgical schedules during this rapidly changing moment in our nation’s history. His patients vary in age. Some are in intensive care. Others are on ventilators.
His days are long, stressful but somehow Oliver manages the uncertainty with a high degree of calmness.
His day often starts around 6 a.m., pulling into one of the hospital’s parking lots. Oliver and other medical personnel can only get into the building through one entrance. He picks up his mask – yes, one – for the day and has his temperature taken.
Oliver hasn’t developed any symptoms from COVID-19 despite the potential for exposure swirling around him each step he takes. He puts on his protective equipment and even Oliver knows that may not be enough to ward off catching the virus.
“You want to take care of the patients, you want to be in the room with them and make your clinic judgments but at the same time, you’re aware of what you’re doing,” he said. “You’re wearing protective equipment but it’s not 100 percent perfect. It filters out 95 percent of the stuff, which creates a little bit of anxiety.”
Playing a round of golf would be the perfect outlet for Oliver, but he hasn’t played since his traditional outing back in England, despite living three miles from the famous Merion Golf Club. Oliver, his brother and two friends play each year either on Christmas Eve or the day after Christmas since he was eight.
Brouse didn’t discover Oliver at that young age but witnessed his skills during the R&A Boys Home Internationals, a match competition between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
“Tom comes from a great family, always a very caring young man in terms of his teammates and people around him,” said Brouse, who now coaches the women’s golf team at Purdue. “I’m not surprised he became a doctor and helping his fellow man.”
Oliver was an All-Academic All-Big Ten selection three times with the Boilermakers. He posted four top 10 finishes during his career and one memorable moment was recording a hole-in-one during a tournament in Alabama.
Brouse’s team was off to a sluggish start in the second round and Oliver posted a triple bogey on the second hole. Brouse picks up the story from there.
“The whole team is leaking oil and coach Brouse was on the edge of his seat and I called Tom over and in my normal demeanor said, ‘Come on, it’s time to get in gear,’ ” Brouse recalled. “He stepped up on a par 3, it had to be at least 200 yards and knocked it right in the hole. He turned around and looked at me and said, ‘How is that for getting it in gear?’ ”
Oliver enjoyed medicine, science and biology growing up but didn’t consider his current path until his junior year at Purdue. He was in the school of health sciences, “puttering along,” showing more interest in working in sports medicine, athletic training or orthopedics.
“I decided to go for it,” he said.
After Purdue, Oliver attended Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. But he’s leaving Pennsylvania after accepting a job at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. Oliver will shift to working in the areas of leukemia, hematology and oncology.
Until then, Oliver will continue his dedication to slowing the virus and leaning on his Purdue experiences to help navigate his career.
“I have such fond memories of my time at Purdue,” Oliver said. “The character building was big. I think Purdue is a gritty school. It’s got that Boilermaker spirit, that tenacity, the wherewithal through workouts or the cold winters and getting up and dragging yourself to practice indoors, it builds character.”
Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter @carmin_jc