DAVID L. GALBUT, M.D. As a cardiac surgeon, I face critical illness on a daily basis, most often with the opportunity to heal. In October 2005, my father, a patriarch of one of Miami 's oldest and most prominent families, was diagnosed with advanced metastatic pancreatic cancer. Despite my credentials as a published and internationally renowned physician, I painfully acknowledged my inability to cure my father and focused upon my role as his medical advocate and loving son. My Father's Final Journey: A Heart Surgeon's Memoir is illustrated through vivid scenes that present my father's courage in battling illness and the grandeur of his life as a husband, father, Navy Captain, attorney, philanthropist, and community leader. Interwoven within the narrative are carefully placed passages that depict defining moments of my father's role in my life. Along the way, I consider whether there is such a thing as a good death, I offer readers a glimpse into the ecstasy and agony of my profession, and I explore traditional Jewish perspectives on living and dying. My father, a Navy officer who served as a navigator in World War II, remained in the Navy Reserve until 1980, when he retired as a Captain. After the war, my father became a lawyer and developed a thriving practice in Miami Beach, where he later served as Commissioner and Vice-Mayor. In Miami Beach, his home since 1930, my father and my mother, a native of New Orleans, raised four prominent sons and created a family committed to enduring unity. I know this memoir will have wide appeal. It will interest Baby-Boomers grappling with the dual role of raising children amid the terminal illnesses of their own parents. The story is also relevant to my medical colleagues, who struggle to balance their commitment to a demanding profession and the challenge of maintaining healthy family relationships. Sincerely yours, David L. Galbut, M.D.
About the Author: David L. Galbut M.D. is an internationally recognized surgeon, who is chief of cardiovascular surgery in the Jackson Health System. He is a graduate of New York University, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and post-graduate surgical programs at Harvard and Columbia Universities. He has authored several leading scientific papers in coronary bypass surgery. His interest in medicine developed during his college years at New York University. He was a recipient of many academic awards including Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated third in his class of six hundred students. Dr. Galbut was a surgical intern at Beth Israel Hospital of Harvard Medical School in Boston and a General Surgery Resident at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. He completed his Cardiothoracic Residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital of University of Miami. Dr. Galbut joined the Cardiac Surgical Practice of Dr. Thomas Gentch, one of the founders of the Miami Heart Institute in the early 1980's. Dr. Gentch's last five years of practice prior to retirement, coincided with Dr. Galbut's first years. This was a time of an extraordinary mentorship in which Dr. Galbut benefited from a Masters experience in understanding complex cardiac surgery and developing a strong interest in clinical research. Dr. Galbut during these years achieved enormous experience in cardiac thoracic and vascular surgery. He presented to the academic community at international scientific meetings the results of coronary bypass surgery using bilateral internal mammary artery grafts, an approach developed by Dr. Gentsch in the 1970's and utilized in large numbers in the 1980's and early 1990's by the surgeons at Miami Heart Institute. Dr. Galbut's presentations and publications as a leading author from 1985 through 2004 has gained him an international reputation in coronary bypass surgery. The Galbut family has been prominent in Miami since 1930 and Dr. Galbut is the recipient of many civic and philanthropic awards. He lives with his wife Gita, the mother of their six daughters, five of whom are married and reside in South Florida.