Yesterday I learned of the passing of Dr. Greg Henry. He meant a lot to a lot of people in his roles as physician, medical society leader, and consummate educator. I feel lucky to have called him a friend, and I will miss him.
One of the great experiences of my life was getting to serve as Dr. Henry’s editor for 10 years. It was around 2007 that we first connected, while I was editing Emergency Physicians Monthly. I approached him about writing a regular column and he agreed under one condition – he did not want to type anything. Ever. He was always and forever old school. We agreed that he could call me on the phone and just start talking. We did this every month for 10 years, without fail.
The calls could come any day of the month, and at any time. He’d say, “I’ve got a column, you ready to go?” and I’d start recording. One thing that made Greg so amazing as an orator and educator was that he could speak in complete paragraphs. Sometimes I was his editor and sometimes just his stenographer, transcribing the magic straight from his voice to the page without interference.
If you know Greg Henry at all, you can imagine how rich these 120 phone calls were. I can remember receiving his call in the middle of a holiday party and stepping into a back room to listen to a mini lecture on how to bring compassion back to medicine, with references to Seneca and Francis Bacon and Soppho. And then later, at my computer, I’d sort through his words letter by letter. More than once I was moved to tears.
I had a sense of how lucky I was at the time, getting to learn from this man who could teach philosophy, economics, history and medicine in the same paragraph. Sometimes in the same sentence.
In being his scribe, I got to be his constant student. He taught me many things, among them the quiet honor of a job well done, the beauty of an ever-expanding mind, and the importance of art and humanity in every facet of science.
He also taught me how to close a chapter of life well. One day he called me up and told me that the next day would be his last shift in the ED after 42 years. So the next day we had a long conversation about it, and he let me write a story about it. It was the only article I wrote about him in the 10 years we worked together. I’ll carry this story with me forever, and it will always be a reminder to run this race of life with endurance and compassion, and end well.
RIP Greg Henry. The world is a dimmer place without you.
7 Comments
Had the pleasure of hearing him in perso.n several times. Truly we’ve lost an Icon of EM. Hope someone compiles the articles into an accessible database. It would be widely used.
Another legend passes.
Amazing man. Always gracious. Always a teacher. Sometimes had that little grin when he spoke that made you wonder what he was *really* thinking.
One of my favorite quotes from him was when he described going through several hours of questioning at a deposition after which the attorney congratulated him for “making it through a whole deposition without pissing anyone off.” Greg replied with his trademark smirk “the deposition isn’t over yet, counsel.”
Speaking with him and reading his columns made me a better emergency physician.
I second the request for a book of his columns. There’s so much hidden wisdom in his words.
An energetic lively individual who made major contributions to Emergency Medicine
A great mind and a wonderful friend and human being
The world of Emergency Medicine is the pourer
When I started Emergency Physicians Monthly in my basement in 1992, even though Greg was only five years older than me, I considered him to be a founder in EM, at the top, I barely had the courage to talk to him when I would see him at ACEP. But years later, when EPM was starting to get established as one of the major publication in our specialty I mustered up the courage to ask him to write a column for us. And to my absolute shock, he agreed. After a decade of sharing the front page of EPM with me he once confided that there were two ways EM docs knew him. First as the founder of EPMG, President of ACEP, lecturer and a second larger group as the author of O Henry. And he thanked me. When I left his presence I went to a quiet area and wept. My humble hero had thanked me. No Greg. Thank you. Thank you for the wisdom, the humor, and the humility. I look back at the times we sat together in the EPM booth at ACEP and swapped stories. I would kid him about his mile long string of ribbons on his name tag and he would make a face like Gollum and say “My pretty!” O Greg, I will miss you so.
Indeed, the passing of a legend. He has been a prototype for me about who an EM leader should be.
My favorite Greg Henry quotes:
“Medicine is really just acting for ugly people.”
“The person whom you need to fear most at any hospital is a nurse, with letters other than RN on her nametag, who wears heels and hose to work, and does not handle urine on a regular basis.”
Thank you, Dr. Henry.
Great hopes that you will compile his columns into a book. Had the pleasure of hearing him lecture at the EM courses done by Dr. Bukata. Please keep my e-mail and will look forward to the publication date.
greg was and is a dear friend. you all were kind enough to post my poem “ode to tucker” which I sent greg as a gift , way back when, just after his pup died. I had known him as a giant at that time, he didn’t know me from a molehill. but he liked the poem, and he said he framed it and kept it on his desk. I felt always like this god was talking to me from Mount Olympus , whenever we spoke, and we did. I loved greg Henry, and still do. I am terribly sad now, and thank you Logan .
tom