Sarz M

I grew up in Algonquin, about 40 miles NW of Chicago. At the time it was a teensey town, and all the land beyond was farm. After high school I lived in other places but returned to Chicago in 1980 and have lived on the North side of the city ever since… except for 2011-2013 when I lived in New Zealand. Unlike most doctors I never saved up for retirement, so I don’t have a house in Wilmette, just an apartment in a subsidized building in Buena Park, happily sandwiched between Boystown and Uptown.

I’m a psychiatrist subspecializing in addiction and I prefer to work with the people nobody else wants. I did my training at Rush from 1980-84, exactly the time that Chicago was hit by AIDS (or GRID, as it was called then). Talk about people nobody else wants! I helped create a team (a nurse, a social worker, a chaplain, and me) to work with the patients – and, more to the point, the terrified nurses! – all over the hospital.

A dear friend (Pam) was in this project last year; she raved about it and threatened to do me grievous bodily harm if I did not sign up this year. Seriously though, I’m truly excited to be part of this! A recent issue that could interfere availability-wise: I’ve just last week been diagnosed with cancer and I’ll be starting chemo soon. I asked Pam if she thought I should go ahead with the Project, knowing it may interfere; she replied, “Do it if it brings you joy”, so that’s a no-brainer, as I expect to experience great and lasting joy working with all of you. I hope this will give you the opportunity to explore issues of end-of-life and death-and-dying. I’m quite sure that you will help me!