January 12, 2007

Durant and Nyhan remembered with Bantamweight Archangel

Friends, family members and colleagues gathered to remember the lives of MGH physician Thomas S. Durant, MD, and Boston Globe reporter David Nyhan at a Dec. 11 reception in the MGH Trustees Room. The event was held to commemorate both men and celebrate the private publishing of Bantamweight Archangel: The Life and Afterlife of Thomas S. Durant, MD, which was compiled by Nyhan. Special guests at the reception included Durant's wife Frederika and Nyhan's wife, Olivia (seen below with Larry Ronan, MD, or MGH Internal Medicine Associates, director of the Durant Fellowship).
Before Nyhan died in 2005, he had assembled a collection of stories that chronicled the life and humanitarian work of Durant, who died in 2001. A beloved doctor, humanitarian medical relief worker, inspirer of social change and the namesake of the Thomas S. Durant, MD, Fellowship in Refugee Medicine at the MGH, Durant helped thousands of individuals around the world through his humanitarian work.

According to Nyhan's prologue, Durant's death "left a large hole in the hearts of friends." Those who contributed stories not only worked with Durant, but also witnessed his courage and caring in action. Many admired his spirit and tenacity to impart change wherever it was desperately needed.

Chapters recounted Durant's work helping impoverished people around the world, in places such as Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Honduras and Kosovo. Today, the Thomas S. Durant, MD, Fellowship in Refugee Medicine continues his work by offering MGH clinicians six months to one year of sponsorship to serve refugee populations and victims of war and natural disaster through medical care and support.

"The legacy he left his friends is our shared conviction that something precious had been among us, and should not be extinguished by his mere death," wrote Nyhan. "Tom amassed something too good, too important, to be allowed to fade to black. … So, in his name, in our thousand different ways, we carry on, making a difference or at least trying to, one day at a time, one person at a time."

Bantamweight Archangel: The Life and Afterlife of Thomas S. Durant, MD, was printed in a limited quantity. For more information, contact Danica Mari at dmari@partners.org or (617) 724-3874.