My Friend, Skip!

“Yesterday”…I lost my best friend! What more can I possibly say that would numb the pain? Was it that he died quickly, and didn’t suffer? That would’ve been a consolation if he was old, not so much at age 59! Nothing, and I mean nothing numbs the pain of this terrible tragedy! Skip was a great friend on a personal level, but an even better colleague on a professional level!

He was a great Cardiologist, probably as good as anyone that I have ever known! His diagnostic acumen was unmatched! His bedside intuition was second to none! I’ve seen him figure things out, where others had failed miserably, at all three hospitals where we worked together over the last 25 years. Often, I would bounce things off of him knowing full well, that if anyone could help me out.... it was Skip! Amazingly, that wasn’t even his strongest attribute!

He was kind, caring, driven, and passionate about making sure that his patients were receiving the best possible care! He did not mince his words when he thought that somehow, someone had dropped the ball. He demanded better, and he would let everyone know it! It was never personal! Yet, he was unrelenting in the pursuit of excellence, and worked very hard to that end! He treated charity patients just like all of the others, giving them only, the very best of himself!

Occasionally, my patients would request that I help them find another doctor because they were unhappy with the one that they had. Not once in all of my years of practice, did a patient of his request that I help them find a different Cardiologist! It NEVER HAPPENED! His patients were his family not just in words, but in deeds, and they knew it! If I operated on one of his patients and I did not call him, he was not happy! Initially, I did not understand why. After working with him more closely though, I realized that he actually cared that much about those who trusted him with their lives. He did not care what time you called, as long as you did! We became especially close over the last ten years!

He wanted me to start a Heart Surgery Program at his Medical Center! I told him that I could not do it without his help and support! We shook hands on that promise nearly ten years ago! We may have had our differences at times, but we both agreed that it was healthy to challenge each other intellectually and professionally! We grew together as doctors and friends! Those around us thought that it was the end of the world when we took... not so subtle jabs at each other! They did not realize that he and I were.... “Joined At The Hip”!

He coined that phrase, and it was true! We were two type A personalities who had learned to leave our egos at the front door, and work together as teammates, and professionals to help our Heart Program improve and grow! We knew that together we could climb the tallest mountain, and prove all of the pundits wrong! We both gave the very best of ourselves to that end! Our great outcomes and patient satisfaction surveys speak for themselves!

His loss cannot be measured by any means! Words are just that... empty words. Still, I must try to memorialize who Skip was!

To his patients, he was the doctor who was their friend, their champion, their hope, and most importantly their cure!

To his staff, he was their big brother, their confidant, their rock, their staunchest supporter! Most of all, he was their best friend!

To our Heart Program, he was the “Cornerstone”! After all, it was on his practice to a large extent, and on his unwavering support that our Heart Center was built!

Skip liked to call me “Zeus”. Well, that made him “Jupiter”. If I was Batman, he was Superman! Skip was my action hero! His wit, his humor, his love of life, and for his children was unmatched! His commitment to our common goals was extraordinary! I can go on, and write more and more, and still feel that I’ve left something out! To finish, I’ll just borrow a verse from a poem that I wrote many many years ago!

The time has come that I let go; I have to say “goodbye”,
I nudge my shoulder from my chin, I turn a “teary eye”.
The night has passed, the Sun is up we start another day!
I now must make the best of it, and learn from...”yesterday”.