NATCHEZ &8212; Even though he&8217;s out of the business, Dr. Donald Killelea is still passionate about medicine.

&8220;I&8217;m really fascinated with the changes we (medical professionals) have gone through and I&8217;m still learning a great deal,&8221; Killelea said.

As he sits in the study of his house on South Union Street, Killelea, 80, skims through a medical journal, researching Hepatitis C and recalling when he first began his career in Natchez.

Killelea came to Natchez in 1953 from Tulane University and started as a general practitioner.

After six years, he returned to Tulane to get his residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric pulmonolgy (study of the lungs).

Killelea joked and said he decided to switch from general practitioner to pediatrician because he was a bit squeamish.

&8220;To tell you the truth, I went into pediatrics because as a general practitioner I used to deliver a lot of babies and I couldn&8217;t stand the sight of blood,&8221; Killelea said with a chuckle.

Killelea said he would never forget one of the moments medicine changed and how it affected Natchez.

In 1963 Killelea treated the last case of polio in Natchez.

Killelea, with the support of the medical community in Natchez, helped start a program to prevent polio by distributing a new and improved vaccine at various churches, schools, and other places until the entire city was vaccinated.

The new vaccine, Killelea said, was called the Sabin vaccine and is an oral medicine put into a sugar cube.

&8220;Before that we had we gave the patients shots,&8221; he said.

Killelea said his first step in starting the program was to convince a drug representative from Pfizer to manufacture enough of the drug to treat the town.

&8220;We had so much support from all the doctors in Natchez that the company donated the drug,&8221; Killelea said.

Killelea retired from medicine on Oct. 1, 1997.

Although he enjoys fishing on Lake St. John and volunteering with the Natchez Music Festival, Killelea said he would continue to learn about modern advances in medicine.