Dr. C. Everett Koop will be greatly missed.
I met him when he was the chief of surgery at the Philadelphia Children's Hospital. I was seeking a position as chief pediatric surgical resident and felt very anxious when I walked into his office. Here sat an austere Dutchman. He looked at my record and said, "I see you were born the same day as a famous American. " "Yes, Dwight Eisenhower." "There's another one." "Really, who is it?" "Me." Then we both laughed and became friends for life.
It turns out we have the same day of birth, both born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and both attended Cornell University Medical School and were invited to be guest speakers at the same graduation years later. I always sent him birthday cards during his tenure in Washington.
Bernie Siegel, M.D.
Woodbridge