eachdirection.Helikedtheself-sufficiency—pitchinghis
tent inrandom orchardsand fields alongtheroad and
findingfood wherever he could.Family medicinewas
attractiveinthesameway.Hecouldbeindependent,goit
alone.
Partway through residency,when he’d saved up some
money,heboughtsomefarmlandnearNewBerlinthat
he’doftenpassedonhisbikeridesandimaginedowning
someday.Bythetimehefinishedhistraining,working
the land had become his real love. He entered local
practice but soon focused on emergency medicine
because itofferedpredictable hours,on a shift,letting
him devote the rest of his time to his farm. He was
committed to the idea of homesteading—being totally
self-reliant.Hebuilthishomebyhandwithfriends.He
grew most of his own food. He used wind and solar
powertogenerateelectricity.Hewascompletelyoffthe
grid.Helivedbytheweatherandtheseasons.Eventually,
heandJude,anursewhobecamehiswife,expandedthe
farmtomorethanfourhundredacres.Theyhadcattle,
draft horses,chickens, a root cellar, a sawmill, and a
sugarhouse, not to mention five children.
“I really felt that the life I was living was the most
authentically true life I could live,” Thomas explained.
Hewasatthatpointmorefarmerthandoctor.Hehada
Paul Bunyanbeardand wasmoreaptto wearoveralls
beneathhiswhitecoatthanatie.Buttheemergencyroom
hoursweredraining.“Basically,Igotsickofworkingall
thosenights,”hesaid.Sohetookthejobinthenursing
home.Itwasadayjob.Thehourswerepredictable.How
hard could it be?