Dr. Durden

Originally Published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

At the end of each day, after plastic surgeon, Dr. Frederick Durden, has worked a long shift and kissed his three children goodnight, his prayer is the same: please let me be useful to others and help me honor the blessings I’ve received.

“Let me be clear,” said Durden, 44, when asked about his success. “I’m very thankful for mercy, favor, and my blessings, and I use them all for God’s glory. I find great satisfaction in knowing I woke with the intent to do a good thing and am so happy when I accomplish that. I know I’m blessed in terms of what I am, what I do, and where I come from. I recognize what everyone has done for me to be here.”

Durden refers to himself as a “Grady baby” when explaining how deep his roots run in Georgia. He was born at Grady Hospital, grew up in Atlanta, and attended both Morehouse College and Emory University.

“I had amazing role models,” said Durden. “My grandfather was a sharecropper and he taught that trade to his five sons. All of them had less than a high school education, but they went on to be successful. I watched them and I learned. You get up and work; there is no excuse. I didn’t know I’d become a doctor one day, but I knew I’d be successful because I knew how to work hard, and I was surrounded by support and love.”

When he begins to say who in his life has had the most impact, his deep voice breaks.

“My mother had a traditional role at home until my dad left, then she became the head of the household,” said Durden. “I’d see her at night, reading her Bible, rocking, worrying, but she was strong and never complained. Anything I did was met with ‘I’m proud of you, baby, you get out there and get it.’”

During his time at Morehouse, he was surrounded by great men, great stories and legacies to fill the gaps from his father’s absence. That said, he bears no bitterness toward his father, whom he has not seen since his teen years. He does not judge him, he forgives him, and hopes he might reach out one day, maybe even meet his grandchildren.

Durden and his high school sweetheart, Tonia, have one daughter, Zoé, age 5, and two sons, Frederick, 3, and Isaiah, 1, who is named after Durden’s grandfather, the sharecropper. In 2015, the family chose to move to Fayetteville, not far from the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Newnan, where Durden is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon.

“I chose CTCA because it’s different from other places,” said Durden. “They focus on both holistic medicine and traditional medicine to take care of cancer patients. The spiritual aspect really spoke to me, too. You don’t have to be afraid to pray with a patient.”

One patient Durden didn’t expect to cross paths with is his sister, Linda Jackson.

“You don’t imagine yourself ever having cancer,” said Jackson, 49, who is being treated for colorectal cancer. “I don’t know how I’d get through this process without my brother. He isn’t my doctor, but it’s a blessing that he’s there. He shares the medical side, I share the patient perspective, and we help each other. I love and appreciate him dearly. But he always says don’t thank me, thank God.”

Somehow, despite his 12-hour weekday shifts and four-to-six-hour weekend shifts, Durden found time to create a cancer support group at Cornerstone Baptist Church, where he and his family attend each Sunday. As with his sister, he learns so much from the group he leads. He carries the insight with him and applies it with patients.

“I’m very thankful for all the blessings I receive, and I think it’s my responsibility to take those blessings and use them to serve others,” said Durden.

If you tell Durden’s mother that he attributes much of his success to her, she takes no credit.

“God gives him another chance every day,” said Mary Durden. “Fred believes that you give, and you shall receive. He believes in treating others how you want to be treated. I’m proud of him. He’s come a long way, though he doesn’t look at himself like that. He cuts the grass, he’s a great husband and father, always trying to do the right thing, always putting God first. We believe you pray, and God will see you through. We learned that from my mama.”

The apple doesn’t fall far in the Durden family.