No Quitting

“Yaakov!!” was the first message. It was followed by a flurry of other flustered communications.

“I quit!”

“I’m done!”

“Finished!!”

“No more psychiatry — I’m out!!”

Ari was one of my closest colleagues, so I wanted to help him through whatever crisis he was dealing with. Something must have really pressed his buttons, because he was one of the calmest, most thought-out guys I knew. He was also never afraid of a challenge, took on cases other doctors thought were hopeless, and became somewhat of a rebbi to several fellows the world simply labeled “crazy.” This was also the guy who covered for me when I had to take a few weeks off after my wife had a complicated birth, and the person who told me where to get a prescription pad after I’d made aliyah.

I sent him a message letting him know I was on my way to Minchah and that I had a few patients afterward… could it wait a few hours?

“Yeah, it can wait — lawsuits don’t get settled in 24 hours!”