ABOUT US

Natural Selections Outdoors was founded on the combination of a medical vocation and a love of the outdoors. The purpose was to provide customizable first aid kits, knowledge, and, hopefully, reduce the risk of injury while outdoors.

David G Cable MD was born and raised in Iowa. The youngest of three siblings, he would often tag along when his father and older brother went hunting. Initially he would carry his BB gun, but then graduated to a single shot .410 shotgun. There were many ducks, rabbits, and squirrels bagged with the little shotgun. Iowa in those days still had a large pheasant population. Through schooling, Dr Cable concentrated on ducks, pheasants, turkeys, and geese.

In eighth grade, a science teacher convinced a young boy to aim for medical school rather than a wildlife officer. After that fateful talk, David Cable was convinced he would become a physician.

He graduated from the University of Iowa medical school, and was immediately accepted for surgical training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. By this time, he had married the love of his life, Anne, and had two young sons, Calvin and Spencer. Dr Cable spent ten years at the Mayo Clinic, training in Surgery and Cardiovascular Surgery. He spent two years performing basic science research, focusing on making bypass grafts better with gene therapy. He received numerous honors and awards, and was asked to give two invited international talks. Dr Cable remains the only person at the Mayo Clinic to receive both the Nygaard Travel Award for Basic Science Research as well as Nygaard Travel Award for Clinical Research.

Life then focused on raising a young family and building his surgical practice. His practice focused on both cardiovascular and thoracic surgery. As endovascular stents became available, he became quite involved in endovascular treatment of aneurysms and dissections. Dr Cable has a patent for a novel endovascular stent for the treatment of ascending thoracic aortic dissections, and is actively attempting to bring the device to market. He helped pioneer some cardiac surgery with the Robot, being the first to place pacemaker leads on the heart with the robot. Dr Cable enjoys the art and science of surgery, and enjoys helping patients and families get better. He has been active in open heart surgery, minimally invasive valve surgery, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), atrial fibrillation surgery, Robotic cardiac surgery, and endovascular stents (EVAR/TEVAR).

As his sons grew, he began to enjoy the outdoors once again.  His close friend, Dr W Stephen Minore, an anesthesiologist and pain specialist, introduced Dr Cable to exotic locations.  The first trip they booked together at Safari Club International was to Panama, a couples trip at Tropic Star.  Dr Cable caught a 720 lb blue marlin.  This trip lead to others, and soon Dr Cable learned of his interest in dangerous game.  Dr Minore has well over 60 black, brown, and polar bears to his credit.  Dr Cable quickly learned he shared a love for bear hunting.

With locations remote, Dr Cable realized that injuries could be life threatening. Extraction for medical services would take hours at best, and longer in inclement weather. This is where Natural Selections Outdoor took hold. Charles Darwin postulated that nature selects those that have features favorable for survival, while eliminating those with inferior features. As man has evolved, we can certainly appreciate that planning and preparation has advanced our life.

Natural Selection Outdoors strives to provide reasonable information that may help you survive an encounter. Gear selection will be spotlighted. Basic medical and survival skills will be highlighted. We can not predict or manage all misadventures, we strive to provide solutions that can be adapted.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Seek the advice of your physician or another medical provider should you have any questions about your health or a medical condition. The information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, a doctor/physician-patient relationship. If you think you may have a medical emergency, contact your doctor or 911 immediately.