Dr. Greene had undergone surgery for a brain tumor
but his condition had worsened and so he retired from his position at the
hospital and moved to Hawaii to enjoy his last few months of life. The words to
the letter sent via fax read:
Dear ER Gang,
So here I am, out on the beach at 5:30 in the evening. Elizabeth is drinking
juice, but I'm all about the mai tais. The sun is going down, Rachel is dipping
Ella's toes in the ocean as they head off on their quest for the perfect
seashell. Weirdly enough, I find myself thinking, you know what would make this
moment complete?, some jogger dropping to the sand, short of breath, so I can
sweep in with a piece of bamboo to perform a nice, clean intubation, fix the guy
up, and send him off with a good, simple dispo. Which I guess is my way of
saying I miss you all and that dingy place. Lots of times I thought I should
have chosen a different career or go into private practice, something easier,
less grinding, more lucrative, but since I've been gone, I realize that outside
of doing what I'm doing right now, sitting on this beach with my family, staying
at County all those years, doing what we do on a daily basis was the best choice
I ever made. I know what you're thinking, but trust me, it's not hard to
appreciate once it's over. As much as a part of me would like to believe that
the ER can't go on with out me, the smarter part realizes that you are an
incredible group of doctors and nurses who approach every day with such skill,
compassion and thoroughness, that when it comes to patient care, I know by
absence will hardly be felt. In order to leave, I had to go the way I did, but I
wouldn't want any of you to think that I didn't value each of you and the years
we worked together, or that I didn't have things of a more personal nature to
say. Most of you, I think, have an idea of what those things might be without me
writing them down, but still...Ella is laughing and waving for me. Rachel found
her shell.
Mark
(addendum written by Mark's wife, Elizabeth)
Mark died this morning at 6:04 a.m. The sun was rising, his favorite time of
day. I sent this on so that you might know he was thinking of you all and that
he appreciated knowing you would remember him well.
Elizabeth
