Dr. Sam

Too many years ago, my late next door neighbor of many years was walking when he suddenly didn't feel too well.  Up ahead was a doctor's office.  

He went in.

The doctor dropped everything, examined him, and told him the news.

"If I don't do a bypass on you immediately, you will be dead in a few days."

The doctor was a cardiologist.  My neighbor underwent the procedure and lived many more years under the care of Dr. Abdelazim, the doctor he came to know as "Dr. Sam".  He loved to tell the story of how Dr. Sam saved his life.

In turn, when I started having heart palpitations that literally stopped me if I was walking, I came under his care for a time. (My issue ended up being something that normally wasn't serious.)  My spouse also was under his care for a time.  Dr. Abdelazim said to my spouse, "You aren't a race car anymore.  You are a vintage car.  Slow down."

Dr. Sam was..shall we say, a little flamboyant?  He was also a pioneer who brought modern cardiology into our community.  He was definitely one of a kind, and one of the most caring men you could ever know.  Our community was the richer for him having picked our community for where he would practice.

Here is his obituary.  I invite you to read it.  We can all strive to make a difference in others' lives.  Dr. Sam did just that.

Dr. Sam died earlier this week after a long struggle with Alzheimers.

He was not Jewish, but I think the Jewish expression of sympathy fits here:  May his memory be for a blessing.