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PRESIDENT’S REPORT G. Joseph Beirne, DO, FACOEP-D
by ACOEP
PRESIDENT’S REPORT G. Joseph Beirne, DO, FACOEP-D
A MOTHER’S LEGACY
Happy summer to all! I hope all of you are enjoying the warm weather and spending time with your families. Summer always brings a sense of joy to me, as nature is in full bloom and shows us why life is so special.
I chose the title of this article, because of recent events that transpired in my life. My mother, Christine Beirne, died on June 19, 2022. She had her original diagnosis of breast cancer in 1996, underwent lumpectomy and had chemo and radiation. She had a recurrence in 2004 in the opposite breast and had another lumpectomy and radiation. In 2009, another recurrence. At that point, mom made the decision to have a bilateral mastectomy. Then in 2015, she experienced another recurrence at the site of the breast reconstruction. She had surgery and debridement of this area and recovered again. In May 2021, she had pneumonia and was not recovering as expected. My suspicion this was not just pneumonia was confirmed. She had a malignant pleural effusion in the right lung. After thoracentesis, thoracoscopy and talc pleurodesis, she improved and began taking Ibrance.
In July 2021, she contracted COVID and was hospitalized twice. She then developed a pulmonary embolism in September 2021. From the time she contracted COVID, she was oxygen-dependent. By Easter 2022, her oxygen requirement had increased, and she developed long-hauler COVID symptoms. She entered the hospital on May 3, had thoracentesis and bronchoscopy. She then was in a long-term acute care facility for about 10 days. On June 15, her pulmonologist called me and told me there was no other therapy they could offer her. I knew the end was coming, but nothing ever prepares you to hear that. She went into hospice on June 16 and died peacefully on June 19 with our family at her side.
My dad asked my brother and I to speak at her funeral. My daughter, Danielle, spoke first and read a poem she wrote for my mom. It was a beautiful way for her to honor her memory. My brother spoke, then it was my turn. As I stood at the lectern in church, I said “how do you summarize a person’s life in 10-15 minutes? How do you capture the quintessential moments that defined who they are, how they lived, their successes, joys, sorrows?” I shared stories of my mom’s life that brought smiles, laughter and tears. As I ended, I shared one very special story. In 2001, when I graduated from my EM residency, my family and I were at my parents’ house for a family gathering, and my mom pulled me aside and said, “dad and I are so proud of you for what you accomplished. I want you to take this one pearl of wisdom from me. Every day, do one nice thing for one person, make a difference in that person’s life.” I told everyone in the church, “many people ask me over the years, how can I come back to this job, day after day, in the ER with all of the pain, suffering and death that we see.” And what I tell everyone is the same: “the juice that keeps me coming back to the job is the sense of pride and satisfaction that at the end of the shift, I know I made a difference for one person—whether taking an extra 5 minutes to answer all of their questions, getting them a warm blanket, or just smiling and holding their hand and telling them things will be ok.” When I looked out over the crowd in church, I saw heads shaking, faces smiling—they knew this was my mom’s influence on my life. She created a legacy that lives on in each patient that I see every day. Her love,
spirit, will, determination and ability to always see good in everything is a living legacy I carry forward and always will. It has made me a better physician, husband, father and son. I only hope I can leave the same legacy for my daughter and that it measures up to what my mother left me.
Our parents brought us into the world and provided for us, cared for us and taught us how to live a life of service and responsibility. When they need you the most, do the same for them that they did for you. It will never be enough, but it is one way to say thank you and honor those who gave us life and taught us to be who we are today.
In loving memory of Christine Y. Beirne, 12/14/42-06/19/22 –•–
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