Right about now, Wilmer Flores has nothing on me. The young NY Mets ballplayer was last seen wiping away tears when an internet rumor about his having been traded to Milwaukee reached him even while he still had a few innings left to go (supposedly) in a Mets uniform. It is a little hard to resist making jokes at the expense of Beertown (c’mon Milwaukee ain’t that bad) and inject some sarcasm to dampen and distract from the raw emotion embodied by his crying about losing the connection to his beloved teammates. Far be it from me to interject sarcasm and deflect true emotion (yeah right, just ask some of the people who have had to deal with me at times of crisis). For right about now, my most beloved teammate is facing a crisis and I understand how Flores could be moved to tears at the very suggestion of threat of a breach in relationships that one believes and hopes will last forever.
Dr. Ken Kirsh is the person of whom I speak. He is the person without whom I could not speak, well not nearly as loudly or as intelligently. He has been my student, my colleague, my co-author, my role model, mentor and friend for 20 years. He is facing a medical crisis. He and I worked together with people with chronic pain and cancer. As former psycho-oncologists, we know just enough to be dangerous. As a former psycho-oncologist who worked with people facing the same tough opponent my buddy is now facing, advanced colon cancer, you would think I would have enough skill to take some safe therapeutic distance as I did countless times before. I have had patients for whom I felt real love yet also had enough “work ego” to do it from a safe psychological distance. I am unable to do that now. And maybe that’s for the better. I talk to him every day and say some helpful things, some stupid things, some self-centered things about my own reactions to what he is going through, and Ken has been very forgiving, acknowledging that we are both human but also that it at least makes him feel that I am not dealing with him as just a sick person. And when you reach out to him having learned of this news and maybe will be afraid you too will say something stupid, I am sure he will be equal parts happy to hear from you and equally forgiving. That’s the kind of guy he is; not easily shaken from his stoic and taciturn base.
Ken and I hit it off immediately when he first walked into my office after I made overtures about my need for students to the professors at his graduate school. He walked in, picked up a big box o’data from a study I had completed but not written up and came back in a couple of days with the numbers crunched and a draft of the paper. It turns out, we have completely complementary cognitive styles and together we make one brain. Many, many papers have come since. Together we are a kind of Lennon and McCartney in our style of writing papers – I am the impressionistic and speculative one so I write the intro and discussion, he is the no-nonsense and detail-oriented one so he writes the methods and results – and we crank. And the way we write together is the way he forgivingly handles my dumb comments on the phone – no judgments; we always simply push the product down the road, never striving to write a perfect draft because we have agreed to feel no shame even if we send each other a piece of junk. (Ok, so not Lennon and McCartney, he would never let me be that grandiose, how about more like Macaulay and Mason the co-writers of Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes the one hit wonder that elicits an audible groan every time the opening strains of the tune by the Edison Lighthouse are heard – Ken is a talented musician and songwriter and I know he above anyone else will appreciate this more apt and very obscure reference).
It isn’t just me who is threatened with a breach in a relationship with a trusted, wise and principled friend…I don’t think I am exaggerating when I say that I think this is a threat to every person in pain. Ken has been one of their steadiest champions. Maybe a little less obviously so because he doesn’t have quite the blarney that some of us who have been a bit more out front have. But he has been there providing the substance, researching, writing, speaking, taking controversial positions, advocating and fighting some more. And he will continue to do so; though he will now have to allocate some of his energies to a more personal fight. He started effective, but pretty tough, chemo this week.
Despite my lack of religiosity, I ask you all for your prayers. There are no atheists in foxholes. Ken has taken me up on my offer to help manage communications to the world outside of our small circle so he can devote his energies to the tasks at hand. If Dr. Fudin is kind enough, I will periodically provide updates here on how he is doing and even what he and his wife Kristy might need. I know a lot of you will want to contact him and help. So write to me and I will help put you in touch if you don’t already have his numbers, emails or addresses. There is a site set up with CaringBridge where friends and family can follow Ken as well.
In the movies Tom Hanks is not often wrong about much. But there is crying in baseball. Believe me, I know.
This guest blog post is written by Steven D. Passik, PhD.
Dr. Steve Passik is Vice President of Clinical Research and Advocacy at Millennium Health, LLC. Prior to that, he had a 25 year academic clinical and research career principally at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC. He has over 200 publications to his credit – the lion’s share written with Dr. Ken Kirsh.
Please post comments and well-wishes here!
This blog is posted with permission from Dr. Kenneth L. Kirsh and is compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Steve – Thank you for posting such a heartfelt message. Those of us who know Ken are so saddened by this news. I will gladly add him to my prayers. Please do update us on his progress as it becomes available. I can’t imagine how this must be concerning to you. You two have been such prolific writers, and inseparable friends, since the KY days. Marsha
I have a dear friend fighting for her life, as well, at this very moment. I nearly cried thinking of her while reading this. Good luck to you Ken with your fight. Thanks to both of you for your contributions to the chronic pain cause.
Great to see so much support for our friend. Please keep in touch with Ken at his Caring Bridge site and keep up with his journal entries. The site link is http://www.caringbridge.org/search?q=Kenneth+Kirsh
His page is under Kenneth Kirsh if you need to search to find it. Keep the love flowing!
The raw concern and heartfelt expressions of appreciation for Ken are felt by many in the chronic pain and oncology fields. Thank you for elegantly articulating feelings that my heart echoes. Ken is a highly respected leader, and his work has significantly added to the knowledge base that we all rely on. He is in our prayers, and so are you, Steve, as you navigate this very difficult time in your life where your valued teammate is suffering.
Beautifully written. True patriots in the fight for patients in pain are the two of you….and what a great friend you are, Steve. Prayers to Ken & his family.
Beautiful post! I will pray for Dr. Ken and family. Thank you both so much for your advocacy work for patients in pain.
This foxhole is overflowing with prayers. Ken is not only brilliant, he’s tough as nails. You’re a good friend Steve. Thanks for this post. I’ll be reaching out to Ken, truly a giant in the field of pain management.
Ya! Bravo, Great post jeff and i felt very guilty while i was reading this post ;)…. https://www.painmanagementlasvegas.com/
Great post Jeff!
I have known Ken for about 10 years. We worked together for some time in Kentucky, great times. He is a wonderful man, good husband, good friend, brilliant pain guy, and all round nice person. My prayers are with him and Kristie …
John Peppin
Bravo, Steve. And of course Ken has my prayers!
Michael