With apologies to Steve Miller…

A digression right at the start: I was a big fan of the Steve Miller Band when they first started out. I bought their first five albums, and then, following Miller’s car accident, the band resurfaced with a new “pop” sound, I lost interest. I saw them in concert in 1968, and then again in 1998. I took my daughter to see them, since she’d become a fan. The opening act was Little Feat, who I wanted to see more. Miller announced it was his 30th anniversary tour, and I told my daughter I had seen him on his first tour!

Okay, now on to the point of this post and why it’s titled as such:

Last Sunday, while I was seated in church, my phone vibrated with an incoming call. I checked to see who was calling, expecting it to be a spammer (on Sunday?). It was from Richard K. I couldn’t imagine why Richard would be calling, and when the transcript of his voice mail was done, he had indicated he had “serious” news and needed to talk.

I quietly walked out into the atrium and called Richard. When he answered, my first question to him was, “Is this about Duncan?” Duncan is a mentor of mine. He is now 91 years old, and the Christmas card I received from his wife informed me that he’d been in and out of the hospital, and was “not doing well.”

“No,” Richard replied, “it’s about Mark.” Mark?

Mark is a long-time acquaintance I see on Fridays when I’m in Great Falls. I had not seen him this past Friday. Now I know why.

“Mark passed away Friday night,” Richard informed me. Shock!

Mark was 63, a husband and father of three daughters. He had not been seriously ill, to my knowledge. Apparently bipolar, he’d been on medication to treat this condition for thirty years. His latest medical “challenge” was prostate-related. He never said it was cancer, just that his PSA numbers were high and that he’d been given meds to address that condition.

It seems that he was admitted to the hospital with excessive fluid surrounding his heart, a condition known as pericardial effusion. Frequently, there are no symptoms, especially if the fluid has developed over time (source; Mayo Clinic)

It was too late for Mark. Doctors tried relieving the fluid, but even still, they could not save him.

As one gets older, this kind of news becomes more and more frequent. Years ago, I worked with an elderly (to me) man who would often say, “I check the obituary page every day to make sure I’m not on it.” One day, though…

For me, this was a great reminder to tell my loved ones that I love them. Every opportunity I get!