Hyperion's Fracture

Thomas Kelso is the eldest son of a career naval officer and as such, is a member of the "military brat" subculture so aptly described by Pat Conroy. During his youth he attended eight different schools by the time he was fourteen and never had a hometown until his family settled in Virginia Beach, Virginia where he completed high school. After graduating from Virginia Tech he had aspirations of a career in the biological sciences and did research at several institutions ultimately earning a Ph.D. from Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He then chose to pursue a calling in medicine. To defray the expense of tuition he applied for, and was granted, an Armed Forces Professional Scholarship. In 1991 he received his M.D. from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and began his naval service. While on active duty, he served for two years as the medical officer aboard the guided missile cruiser, USS Virginia. After completing orthopedic residency training he joined the teaching staff at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, VA. During this period he was the orthopedic surgeon for the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. In 2000 he transitioned from military service into private practice and spent a decade in Springfield, Missouri at Mercy-St. John's Hospital, a level I trauma center. During this period he was also a team orthopedic surgeon for both Missouri State University and the Springfield Cardinals baseball team, the AA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2010 he relocated to the southeastern coast of North Carolina and is a full-time practicing partner in the Wilmington division of EmergeOrtho where he cares for patients with aging joints and sports related injuries. In the evenings and on weekends, when not on emergency room call, he fulfills a lifelong dream of writing fiction. His first novel, "Fractured" was published in 2018.