BLOG: Dr. Duick’s Ties
On a recent workday, I wore this tie to work (Figure 1). It is one of Dr. Daniel Duick's numerous ties.
Dan died in January, leaving numerous legacies and marks on the endocrinology world, nationally and globally, especially in the literature of thyroid cancer. Dan was one of three co-authors of Thyroid Ultrasound and Ultrasound-Guided FNA, which is in my opinion the most helpful and informative small textbook in the field. I read it in-depth from cover to cover, and it was crucial in my own self-education in thyroid ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration. It was so special that my copy of the book was signed by Dan, which he gave me as a present, many years ago (Figure 2).
When I was notified of Dan’s passing by his family, I flew to Phoenix to attend his funeral and memorial. Dan’s family gave me three ties from his large collection. Dan loved wearing ties, and his family thought to donate all of them to his friends. When I was working with Dan, I never saw him without a tie. He would rarely wear a full suit, but rather different/coordinating jackets. His family asked me and his other friends to wear the ties whenever we’d like to remember Dan.
Dan’s loss was not only a loss to his family, but a loss to the endocrinology field.
As I shared earlier, in several blog posts, I was so lucky to have worked with Dan, as the first job in my endocrinology career journey. He was not only a senior associate as my first employer, following my fellowship, and a teacher in medicine and life, but also a family friend. We worked together in the mid to late 90’s at his famous “Endocrinology Associates” center of excellence in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. While that branch has been changed and become part of St. Francis Medical Center, the original practice is still in full operation by Dan’s MD, NP and PA colleagues in two locations in Arizona. When we lived in Cape Girardeau, the Duicks were family friends: I cannot forget their care and compassion when we went through a difficult time during the illness and passing of our daughter, Jinan. I wrote about Jinan’s story few years ago.
I wrote several stories about my association and then friendship with Dan.
In November 2016, I told the story of how a great teacher Dan was and how he taught me the concept of missing the train when one sees the caboose passing at the train station. That was how Dan taught me how to look at the natural history of type 2 diabetes from the stages of pre-prediabetes to full blown disease and how it is prudent to start managing the disease process early on, before hyperglycemia, and implicitly before the stage of prediabetes with slight elevation of fasting glucose or HbA1c. Because when type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, it may become too late: when “you see the caboose passing at the train station because you have already missed the train.”
Some of the other posts about Dan are listed at the end of this post.
I plan to continue to wear Dan’s ties now and then and talk about him whenever I wear one. Dan was, indeed, a different kind of a human being — a great teacher, a relentless storyteller, a loving husband, a caring father and a sincere friend to so many people.
A few more memories of Dan:
https://www.healio.com/news/endocrinology/20200408/blog-nap-time
https://www.healio.com/news/endocrinology/20200408/blog-the-road-to-petra
https://www.healio.com/news/endocrinology/20200408/blog-doc-you-need-a-doctor-part-2
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