NEW YORK – Eight years ago, at the age of 50, I had a triple bypass heart operation. To say I was shocked is an understatement. I don’t smoke, drink or do drugs. Having played football in high school and college, I thought I was in pretty good physical shape. But that Southern-style cooking back in Tuscaloosa, Ala. finally caught up with me. Yet, I was one of the fortunate ones -- having open heart surgery probably saved my life.
The surgeon who operated on me neglected his own health. He knew that he, too, needed to have an operation but kept putting it off. He put it off too long – he died of a heart attack. The person who has made certain that I don’t put off anything that might be detrimental to my health is Dr. Boisey O. Barnes Jr., a prominent Washington, D.C. cardiologist.
Last Friday, the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) and the National Medical Association (NMA) held a testimonial banquet here in his honor. I had the honor of introducing him, so I thought I’d get my licks in first. Dr. Barnes has joked about seeing me on TV more than he sees me in his office. I took some especially heavy ribbing when he spotted me a couple of years ago at the televised daily briefings on the war in Iraq. He recounted every time Gen. Vincent Brooks called on me in Doha, Qatar.
But the tables eventually turned. Dr. Barnes was the lead investigator in the first national study of cholesterol in African Americans. He enrolled me in the medical trial and provided me with new medicine that significantly lowered my cholesterol level. Because of his success, he began appearing on television more than I was. He was on ABC and BET. He testified before the FDA. Don’t hold me to this, but I think I even saw him at hearings on the FBI and CIA.
In addition to getting an opportunity to rib Dr. Barnes about his becoming a media star, I was proud to see this skilled and understated man get long overdue national recognition.
The banquet room in the Sheraton Hotel was filled with talented physicians, including Dr. Edith Irby Jones, who served with me on the Board of Trustees at Knoxville College, our alma mater; Dr. Winston Price, outgoing president of the National Medical Association; incoming NMA President Dr. Sandra L. Gadson; Dr. Paul Underwood, president of the Association of Black Cardiologists, Dr. Jesse McGee, chairman of ABC’s board and Dr. B. Waine Kong, the CEO of ABC.
When I looked out on that room, I thought about all of the medical journal reports showing that many white physicians do not recommend cutting-edge technology – and in some cases, routine procedures – to their black patients at the same rate they offer those options to white patients. But African Americans who select black doctors don’t run into that problem. Still, many blacks are so brainwashed that they avoid the physicians who have their best interests at heart.
Interestingly, most of the testimonials about Dr. Barnes were about his heart, his giving heart. Michelle Miller, a correspondent for BET News, told of how Dr. Barnes had a special way of encouraging her in her youth, former students at Howard University Medical School credited him with encouraging them to pursue careers in cardiology, many spoke about his shying away from the spotlight (until it was forced upon him because of his pioneering work) and many noted his deep devotion to his daughters, Tamera and Bridget, and wife, Bernadine, a former model, radio announcer and teacher.
At the end of the evening, when it was time for Dr. Barnes to make remarks, he thanked his family and friends for supporting him and spent the remainder of his time pleading – almost begging – members of the audience to take better care of themselves. As if still teaching a class at Howard, he reminded everyone that heart attacks can be avoided, if one monitors cholesterol levels, blood pressure, eat properly and regularly exercise. With tears welling in his eyes, Dr. Barnes recounted the loss of many friends, some of them physicians, who had died prematurely of a heart attack. “No one has to die of this disease,” he said.
That’s a message he repeats over and over – even when his colleagues try to honor him. Dr. Barnes is more committed to saving lives than taking bows for personal achievements. He is a cardiologist with a heart.