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My father, David Cooper MD, was a cool guy. Like, proper cool. A polymath, even.
This year will be 30 years since he passed away unexpectedly and I have detailed some of his awesomeness in this #medthread
To start, he had this hilarious cartoon published in @NewYorker
My father, David Cooper MD, was a cool guy. Like, proper cool. A polymath, even.
This year will be 30 years since he passed away unexpectedly and I have detailed some of his awesomeness in this #medthread
To start, he had this hilarious cartoon published in @NewYorker
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He ran marathons and ultramarathons including this 50-miler in Chicago, which he finished in 10:20:48.
I still can't wrap my mind around what it would have been like to run for 10 hours straight.
He ran marathons and ultramarathons including this 50-miler in Chicago, which he finished in 10:20:48.
I still can't wrap my mind around what it would have been like to run for 10 hours straight.
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He traveled widely, including down the Amazon where he handled this enormous snake
He hiked through the Andes, Patagonia, and the Antarctic
He traveled widely, including down the Amazon where he handled this enormous snake
He hiked through the Andes, Patagonia, and the Antarctic
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Serving as a physician in the US Navy, he rose to the rank of Lt. Commander before entering private practice.
I can still remember him jokingly calling out the cadence of "left, left, left, right, left" when we would walk around the neighborhood.
Serving as a physician in the US Navy, he rose to the rank of Lt. Commander before entering private practice.
I can still remember him jokingly calling out the cadence of "left, left, left, right, left" when we would walk around the neighborhood.
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He read ferociously on wide-ranging topics and possessed the kind of well-developed, high fidelity photographic memory that's almost hard to fathom. Total recall is what friends of his have likened it to, as if he could remember almost everything he had read or learned.
He read ferociously on wide-ranging topics and possessed the kind of well-developed, high fidelity photographic memory that's almost hard to fathom. Total recall is what friends of his have likened it to, as if he could remember almost everything he had read or learned.
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This visual memory helped him become a fantastic dermatologist. When graduating from residency the program director supposedly pulled my grandfather aside and told him that my father was the best diagnostician their program had ever seen, trainee or otherwise.
This visual memory helped him become a fantastic dermatologist. When graduating from residency the program director supposedly pulled my grandfather aside and told him that my father was the best diagnostician their program had ever seen, trainee or otherwise.
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He also loved learning about a wide range of medical topics, outside of dermatology. I found these articles on treatment of "diabetic coma" and "evaluation of stupor and coma" in his doctor's bag.
He also loved learning about a wide range of medical topics, outside of dermatology. I found these articles on treatment of "diabetic coma" and "evaluation of stupor and coma" in his doctor's bag.
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He would've LOVED #medtwitter and learning from the likes of @cjchiu @colleenmfarrell @ebtapper @tony_breu @AdamRodmanMD @DrStevenTChen @laxswamy @gradydoctor @ETSshow and everyone else creating amazing content on this platform.
He would've LOVED #medtwitter and learning from the likes of @cjchiu @colleenmfarrell @ebtapper @tony_breu @AdamRodmanMD @DrStevenTChen @laxswamy @gradydoctor @ETSshow and everyone else creating amazing content on this platform.
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Mountain climbing was another passion of his and I believe he hoped to one day summit Everest.
In 1989 he had tried to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro but was unsuccessful (I have never found out why).
He trained hard the following year and returned to Africa to climb it again.
Mountain climbing was another passion of his and I believe he hoped to one day summit Everest.
In 1989 he had tried to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro but was unsuccessful (I have never found out why).
He trained hard the following year and returned to Africa to climb it again.
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He accomplished his goal of reaching the summit but passed away in his sleep the following night, presumably from high altitude sickness. He was 49 years old.
He accomplished his goal of reaching the summit but passed away in his sleep the following night, presumably from high altitude sickness. He was 49 years old.
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What I remember most about my father is his kindness and sense of adventure. Life was never boring around him.
What I remember most about my father is his kindness and sense of adventure. Life was never boring around him.
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He was a wonderful man and a wonderful father. Someone I wish my children could have known and learned from.
He was a wonderful man and a wonderful father. Someone I wish my children could have known and learned from.
