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Canadian
Heart Health |
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Andres
Petrasovits -Tuesday,
the 24th of July of 2001, was the last day of our friendship with
Andres Petrasovits. -That
friendship, that will last forever in my memory, began on a more auspicious day,
back in 1974 that is, almost 28 years ago. -At
that time I was a newcomer to Canada and I was still struggling with the trauma
of exile, and the hardship of becoming adapted to a different world. -One
day, early in June of 1974, in some place in Tunney’s Pasture, that now I
cannot recall, I met Andres for the first time, and he was the first friend I
ever made in my new life in Canada. -We
learned that Andres had been born in Spain, where he first studied law, but
rather than practice law in his native city of Valladolid, he moved to study
economics, first in Bilbao, and then in England at the London School of
Economics. Later, he moved to the
United States to get a doctoral degree in Mathematical Statistics in the Florida
State University, and during that period he became also a visiting scholar at
the University of North Carolina. -Many
years later, after he married his late ex-wife Anna, he moved to Canada, became
a Canadian citizen, and decided to go back to school again, this time to study
epidemiology at Harvard University. -Such
a versatile education, acquired in different centers made him a learned person,
provided him with many talents, and with a broad and multifaceted perspective of
life. -Perhaps
this is also why, very early in his life he became a citizen of the world, who
developed a genuine vocation for international commitment and cooperation. The
diversity of his background was probably the reason why he always behaved with a
gentle politeness, and had a sort of old-fashioned manners, that reminded
everybody of his childhood and youth in his native Spain. -He
moved to what was then Health and Welfare Canada in 1971, and remained in the
Department for the last 30 years. I
must confess however that, at the beginning, our relationship was a difficult
one. We had different views about life, different opinions about almost
everything, and we sat at opposite ends of the political and ideological
spectrum. -Yet,
over the years we learned to know and to trust each other, and I had the chance
to appreciate and to value his most outstanding qualities: a lucid mind,
rational thinking, integrity and above all a tenacious perseverance. -Armed
with these powerful weapons, Andres confronted the most difficult but
fascinating challenges, and became involved in many difficult battles with the
same courage and determination that one of his favorite heroes, the legendary
knight don Quijote de la Mancha, once battled windmills that he thought were imaginary
giants. -The
difference was that, Andres did not battle imaginary, but real life enemies,
both giants and midgets, and that he ended most battles as a clear victor. -No
doubt he was trying to fulfil a dream his father once had. As a physician and a
cardiologist, who many years ago came from Hungary to spend the rest of his life
in Spain, his father started a personal fight against heart disease that
produced a deep impression in Andres, during all his adult life. He did not only
followed the footsteps of his father, but went beyond a personal
commitment and manage to persuade hundreds of Canadians, in all the provinces,
to initiate a national crusade against heart disease. Almost 15 years later,
that crusade is still alive and successful. -He
used his skills in international cooperation to contribute to the creation of an
international heart health network that has had a significant impact in
improving heart health all over the world. -He
became a vital part of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on
Policy Development for Non-communicable Disease Prevention within Health Canada,
and the co-director of the CINDI Canada program, an acronym that stands for
Country-wide Integrated Non-Communicable Disease Interventions, a program
involving now 30 countries. -Beyond
that, he became personally involved in the efforts of many countries, all over
the world, to combat heart disease, and in the establishment by the Pan American
Health Organization, of the CARMEN Program. This is the equivalent of the CINDI
program, for Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America. -Andres
was an only child, had no children of his own and devoted his entire life and
all his energy to what, he regarded as his mission. -I
could cite you a long list of his many achievements, which were his finest
hours, and now constitute his legacy. But
that may be unnecessary, since most of you are already aware of them. -Let
me only remind you that he was recognized by his colleagues and friends from
around the world, and was also the recipient of several awards: -After
his death testimonies of admiration poured in from Russia, Japan, Malasia, the
middle east, eastern Europe, Scandinavia, from Britain, Latin America, the US
and from across Canada. One of these testimonies very eloquently summarizes, in
five words, the attributes that Andres had.
These words were: Diplomacy,
Magnetism, Energy, Wisdom and Vision. -Finally,
I would like to repeat a single verse from an old poem, written by the famous
Spanish poet Antonio Machado. Both of us liked this poem, and very often we used
to recite it together: “Caminante
no hay camino, se hace camino al andar. The
essence of this poem is that, those who want to move forward, to achieve
progress and to make a difference, will not find a pre-made path, instead they
will have to build their own way, as they move along. -Andres
spent most part of his life building his own path, to make things change and to
become better. All of us who shared his journey, and particularly his dear and
close friend Sylvie Stachenko, will miss him very much. -May
he rest in peace. (Dr. Eric Nicholls, Health Canada) -------------------------------------------Eulogy given at the First National Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Conference In closing this session of CDC’s First National Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Conference, I’d like to say a few words about our dear, departed friend from Health Canada, Dr. Andres Petrasovits. For some of you, his name may not be familiar; but for others, you knew Andres as a generous, enthusiastic, and dedicated professional in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. By any measure, Andres was a brilliant man. Andres spoke seven languages, although his Dad liked to tell him "none very well"; he held several masters degrees including public health, mathematics, and economics; and he held a Doctoral degree in theoretical mathematics. Andres had traveled the world and had become an international resource for new projects and activities which developed the international infrastructure to help all of us prevent CVD. Andres moved to Canada a number of years ago and evolved into his role as the coordinator of Health Canada’s CVD initiatives. It was Andres who worked with us to establish a continuing collaborative role between Health Canada and CDC. Through his efforts we now have a memorandum of understanding between Health Canada and CDC, we participate in each other’s conferences (such as you will see at this conference), we co-sponsor training sessions (such as our practitioner’s institute), and we confer often to seek each other’s advice on ways to make the most of our scarce resources. Andres was determined that Canada and the United States would work together,, as good neighbors should in the prevention of heart disease - and for that we are forever grateful. (Dr. Gary Hogelin, CDC, Atlanta) |
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