Hormonally charged

Endocrinologist Eric Espiner, who undertook his first medical exploration on a cat, at age 91 remains fascinated by how the body works.

- MICHELE HEWITSON

This story begins with a cat. The cat, who came to be known as Buster, was a tortoiseshell cat who lived with the Espiners, a nice, solid family who lived a nice middle-class life, first in Wellington then Christchurch. Eric's mum was Moss Rose. She had been a nurse. Dad was also Eric but was always known as Sam, short for Samson, because of some Herculean feat of strength he performed at high school, the details of which are lost in the mists of time. He was a French teacher. There were three sons and a daughter.

Eric Espiner the younger, who went on to become an eminent endocrinologist, has written a memoir, A Physician's Journey: Chasing hormones you never knew you had, and why you need them. It would be fair to say he is much enamoured with hormones, and with talking about hormones, which he can, and does, until long after the cows come home.

He is 91 and works full-time in Christchurch at the satellite campus of the University of Otago, from which he graduated in 1957. He is supposed to be retired from the university. But he turns up every day and gets paid for one day a week. He'd do it for nothing. But 91! Why hasn't he retired? “Because I'm fascinated by the topic.”

He was reminding me of Father William in that bit of doggerel by Lewis Carroll:

“'You are old,' said the youth; 'one would hardly suppose.

'That your eye was as steady as ever;

'Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose –

What made you so awfully clever?'”

He thought that was quite amusing, although, he said, the balancing of an eel on his nose would be beyond him. I'm not so sure. He is extraordinarily dexterous, mentally and phsically. He bikes and hikes and plays tennis. He loves classical music.