My wife, who is a patient of Dr. F, was told by Dr. F today that your father had passed away. Although my wife had never met your father, for her, your father was the guardian angel who saved her from her pain. Let me tell you the story. It begins in 2000 when the Legislature was considering legislation to abolish triplicate prescription laws. Your father and I were on opposite sides of that bill. He argued eloquently to legislators that triplicate prescriptions were a barrier to effective pain management. As the lobbyist for the California Narcotic Officers Association, I took the view that triplicate prescriptions were an important safeguard against diversion of pharmaceuticals into the illicit market. Although we were on opposite sides of a passionate issue, we developed a strong mutual respect for one another, and eventually the larger legislative issue was solved in a way satisfactory to both of our constituent groups. This is all background. Now we move ahead to 2006. My wife had experienced a bad previous year – first breaking her foot, then falling and fracturing her shoulder several months later. Although both injuries healed, their residue plus congenital bone degeneration of the spine (discovered in a subsequent scan) left her in a state of constant pain. Her primary care physician was completely unresponsive to her pain, despite repeated requests on my wife’s part for help. Finally, in November, I told her that I had worked with your father; that we had been on opposite sides of a pain management legislative issue; and that we had developed a good relationship and that I would call him. I called your father in November, 2006. He called me back, that same day – actually about eight that evening. When I explained to him what was going on, he suggested that my wife ask her primary care physician to refer her to him. She did this, but that doctor was completely disdainful of her, telling her dismissively “I know what that’s about.” Needless to say, this attitude left my wife feeling devastated and all alone. The next day I called your father again and told him what had happened. When I told him the name of my wife’s primary care physician, he was not surprised. So, he told me to have my wife shift to Dr. F, who, he promised, would take care of her. And that’s what my wife did. Since that time, her pain has been under control, she’s her active life back and is able to commit to her passion of caring for rescued dog; and her general health has significantly improved. Today, when Dr. F told my wife that your father had passed away, she began to cry, telling Dr. Faraji, “I never met Dr. Rose, but he was my guardian angel.” With tears in his own eyes, Dr. F told my wife that he remembered “when Harvey Rose called me last year and gave me your name and said ‘promise me you’ll take care of this little lady for me.’” Today, fighting back tears, Dr. Faraji told my wife, “now I am promising you that I will continue to take care of you.” Just this little vignette today illustrates how deeply your father was loved and respected by his peers. We are both very sorry to hear of your father’s passing. Please let us know if there are to be funeral plans or if your family is requesting memorial donations in your father’s name. He was a good man who truly touched the people with whom he came in contact, and, in the case of my wife, some people whom he never met. May God bless you and your family, your father is in the arms of the angels. With our deepest sympathy, J&M Lovell