Skateboarding in a swimming pool as a 16-year-old teen and breaking his wrist was the impetus that guided a new Manteca surgeon into the medical field as a sports doctor.
Dr. Jeffrey McGillicuddy, a board certified orthopedic surgeon, has a passion for life and for thrills.  He comes to Manteca following years of practice. He replaces former Manteca orthopedic physician Dr. Bliss Clark, Jr., who retired recently to a Florida home, leaving the hospital after several years of service as a specialist.
McGillicuddy was born in Oakland and did his undergraduate work in Austin, Texas at the University of Texas with his graduate school at U.C. Berkeley.  His internship followed in the Bronx with him living in Manhattan across the East River.  He also attended Stanford Medical School. 
“I busted my wrist skate boarding in an empty public pool in Texas,” he said. 
Chuckling, he said he had “empty pool” radar in searching out places to skateboard.  He was always on the lookout for abandoned homes where he could use a rented sump pump to drain the stagnant water from a swimming pool and be able to use those empty pools for his sport.
“You don’t know how cool a pool can be until you experience skateboarding in it,” he said, obviously being able to empathize with the pain and the sport in the hearts of today’s daring teenagers that he treats.
He was awed by the surgeon who put his wrist back together and decided then and there that he wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon after he got out of college. 
Today he also enjoys wind surfing, saying the Delta is one of the best spots in the West for the sport. Looking back into his family history, he said by the seventh grade he had a snake collection in his family home.  Today he claims three corn snakes that have been known to cause him to be called home by his wife after at least one has managed to get out of its cage. 
McGillicuddy said the only thing he missed about the Bay Area growing up was his dad wind surfing with him over the water at 30 miles an hour.  He has given thought to learning how to fly a general aviation airplane but has decided against it after seeing so many doctors crash and burn.
His wife Jen is an RN but for the present she presides over their three children as a stay-at-home mom for daughter Ciela, 3, Sean, 9, and Rhone, 5, who will turn six on St. Patrick’s Day in March.  His kids are his hobby and his passion, he said, trying to blend his passions with theirs, coming home one night recently to find his young daughter attempting to play the guitar.  His wife is a talented musician, he noted, playing multiple instruments including the guitar, clarinet, saxophone and keyboards.
His certifications include being on the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and in the field of Orthopaedic Sports Medicine.  He has also served a residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. 
McGillcuddy said he is enjoying his new hospital in Manteca and the friendly atmosphere he has found and enjoys chatting with those he meets on a daily basis.   He is located in the two-story building across from the main entrance to the hospital at 1205 East North Street.

To contact Glenn Kahl, email gkahl@mantecabulletin.com.