Dr. Kolbaba is an internist in private practice in Wheaton, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine with honors and did his residency at Rush Presbyterian-Saint Lukes Medical Center in Chicago and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He has been awarded membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and has been featured in Chicago magazine as a “Top Doctor” in internal medicine. His friends accuse him of specializing in “big.” Being an only child, he now has a family of seven children. “I wouldn’t give up any of them, at least most of the time!” His other passions include his Newfoundland puppy, already one hundred thirty pounds, and flying kites. Yes, only the big ones. At sixteen square meters, his bright orange and green kiteboarding kite was his favorite until it pulled his neighbor and himself off the ground with a gentle breeze. They both dropped off before they ended up in the clouds. He still doesn’t understand why his neighbor won’t help with his kite hobby anymore. Following the same theme in his garden, Dr. Kolbaba has grown Atlantic Giant pumpkins and is the proud winner of the Sycamore, Illinois, pumpkin-growing contest two years running. The first time was a surprise, but, the next year, the family invited all their friends to the festivities, which started with the cord cutting in the pumpkin patch by an experienced gynecologist. A caravan of obnoxious horn-blowing cars followed the flat bed truck carrying the precious pumpkin to the contest, where they were pronounced the winner again with a trophy and a cash prize of fifteen dollars.
Like many of his friends, Dr. Kolbaba considers himself a card-carrying “do-gooder.” His family helps support an orphanage in Romania supervised by REMM (Romanian Evangelical Medical Mission), where they adopted two of their children. His ultimate goal is to provide enough support to help many more orphans and street children. His family is relieved that his three-year sojourn to complete this book is over, but, as he looks up from his laptop Dr. Kolbaba has a wry smile. Thinking of book number two… Bigger?