The Geezers' Lunch
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I got together with a bunch of guys that I used to work with. We're all retired and have known each other since I joined the hospital in 1989.
So, at lunch, it was a urologist, a general surgeon, an ENT, a heart surgeon, and me.
I may have mentioned that the heart surgeon had an intracerbral hemorrhage last year. He's recovered...pretty well. He still has a facial droop, and his right side just doesn't work the way he wants. He golfs, but has a hard time putting the tee into the grass.
Most of all, he can no longer play piano. He's relearning "Spinning Wheel," something we all probably learned in our first six months. In his older repertoire, Claire de Lune is out of the question. I suggested he learn Ravel's left-hand concerto, but he demurred.
He described the event. He was at home, alone, and felt a "strange" feeling come over him. Next thing he knows, he's unable to move his right side, and he's on the floor. He stayed there for hours, because he couldn't get to his phone, and his wife was out.
How terrifying.
He was a remarkably talented heart surgeon who had great judgment, great hands, and never, ever, lost his cool. I loved working with him.
It was great seeing him, as well as the other geezers, but his case was particularly poignant.
