Farewell Dr. Armstrong

While waiting in line to pick up my graduation gown and cap, I happened to pick up the latest issue of the UCI Alumni Association monthly newsletter. It came as a HUGE shock to read that Dr. Kevin Armstrong was no more. He was just 39!

Dr. A was the doc I consulted when I twisted my knee last year in that infamous accident near Santa Barbara. I still remember sitting in the consulting room at the Med Center waiting to meet Dr. A, and in walks this tall, well built gentleman (I thought he would have played in the NFL!) with a wide smile and booming laugh. For some reason when he examined my knees, I was worried that he just might crack a bone or two, but then he treated it so gingerly - a far cry from that sukdu Dr. Z in Santa Barbara, who tried putting my knee back together without any anesthesia! Like his name, he sure looked strong-armed. Infact he worked with the Pittsburgh Steelers on their medical staff for a few years before he joined UCI.

Over the next couple of months, I made quite a few follow-up visits, and each time I met him we joked about this and that. He kept kidding me about being weak kneed and its implications on finding a suitable girl (Aeromsith memorably sang on the topic of falling in love being hard on the knees!). [I didnt know back then that he was single, and had been voted by PEOPLE magazine as one of the top 50 bachelors in the USA, a huge honor on the celeb circuit; especially to be named up there along with Ben Affleck and other guys women swoon over!].

He was a good man, a humble man. A lot of the people I have worked with and spoken to at the Med Center held Dr. A in great esteem. Dr. S was telling me this afternoon, "He made a mark wherever he went, and made a huge difference in peoples lives". He sure left his mark on my knees.

So here I am, with stronger knees, "playing midfield", ready to take on the world. Everytime I admire 'em quadriceps, I pay tribute to a great man.

Dr. Armstrong - RIP...