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Rock Doc

OTOLARYNGOLOGIST Brian Weeks is known among his peers as a pioneer in the treatment of chronic sinusitis, but the pro surfers, skateboarders and rock musicians who rely on him to stay healthy just call him “Dr. B.”

Before he was a top ear, nose and throat physician at Alvarado Hospital, Weeks, 37, was an avid surfer and sometime roadie for a little garage band his friends started. They were called blink-182.

Fame hasn’t faded the band’s loyalty to Weeks, who still cares for Tom DeLonge’s multimillion-dollar vocal cords and has become known as the go-to guy in San Diego for the likes of U2, Aerosmith and P.O.D., along with pro surfers and extreme-sports athletes. He’s done medical exams backstage at rock venues, on rickety paddleboats off the coast of Mexico——even at the foot of the Great Wall of China.

In 2005, Weeks found himself in Beijing working as medical director for skateboarder Danny Way’s ambitious jump of the Great Wall. His presence came in handy the night before the jump, when Way did a practice run that went horribly wrong.

“He landed short and was cartwheeling down this ramp in midair,” Weeks remembers. “We knew something bad had happened. He looked like a rag doll.”

Way’s ankle had swollen up like a balloon, but when Weeks asked Way if he wanted to go to the hospital to get it X-rayed, Way replied, “No, because I’m jumping anyway. If I have to go over that wall in a wheelchair, then I’m going over the wall.”

Knowing his patient wasn’t about to give up on his challenge——which had required months of negotiation with the Chinese government and was expected to draw a TV audience of 120 million——Weeks numbed and stabilized the ankle for the jump, which Way executed, breaking a world record in the process.

“Without Dr. B there, I probably would’ve lost my confidence,” Way says. “I might have still attempted it, but I don’t know if I would’ve been successful.” ——MAYA KROTH

Southpaw Salute

IN HONOR OF INTERNATIONAL LEFT-HANDERS DAY, held annually on August 13, we pay tribute to a few famous San Diego southpaws. Local lefties Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn and El Cajon–born Olympic swimmer Greg Louganis all leveraged their right-brained faculties for domination in the wide world of sports, while honorary San Diegan Whoopi Goldberg likely used her left hand to sling coffee back in her Big Kitchen days. Golfer Phil Mickelson’s swing earned him the nickname “Lefty,” but the S.D. native isn’t otherwise left-handed. So what’s an appropriate way for righties to commemorate their opposite-handed compatriots? The United Kingdom–based Left-Handers Club suggests attempting all daily activities——like opening wine bottles, ironing laundry and, say, cartwheeling——using the left hand instead. ——M.K.

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