SJM_EditorsNote_8_20_EditorsNote 8 / 14 / 20 12 : 12 PM Page 1 EDITOR’S NOT E A DIFFERENT KIND OF SPECIAL we had to say goodbye to my mom in late September , just a few Over these past several months since the weeks ahead COVID - 19 pandemic first began to grip our of her 65th birthday . country , there’s been a tremendous focus on At the time , the doctors said all the right things to try and health care and those who have made the pro - comfort me and my family , but it was hard to hear them through fession their career . The countless doctors , all the sobbing . Now , looking back on it , I realize just how crucial nurses , office workers , first responders and their voices were and how the things they said to us have finally more have been justly celebrated for their begun to resonate . Those doctors didn’t want to be in that posi - remarkable efforts to try and keep our society tion any more than we did , but they went the extra mile to let us safe and in good health . know that we weren’t alone . But while the pandemic has brought these wonderful people I thought about those doctors a lot as we put together our into the light , there are many of us out there who have seen first - annual Top Physicians issue . I’m forever grateful for all they did hand what a difference they can make . Whether you are the to try and help not only my mother , but my entire family . And patient or it’s a loved one , the truth is these medical professionals that’s why these people are truly heroes . They can have all the were plenty busy long before the coronavirus arrived , touching smarts in the world , but the things that make the great physicians the lives of many from sick children to aging seniors . stand out isn’t something you can learn in a book , it’s inside of ver the past few years , my late mother had several of these them . They may say they are just doing their job , but I would say O champions by her side , helping her with issues that just seemed they are doing much more than that . And anyone with a similar to keep piling up . She spent so much time in and out of the hos - experience would say the same . pital , that while it became overly worrisome to the rest of my family , she always felt comfortable because it was “ the best place ” Kind regards , for her to be . Sadly , around this time last year after returning from a family vacation , my mother went straight to the hospital after a three - hour ride home . After a few weeks bouncing around from the hospital to a rehab facility and then back to the hospital , her Peter J . Proko , condition worsened rapidly and despite everyone’s best efforts Editor - in - Chief SOUTH JERSEY MAGAZINE volume 17 issue 5 SouthJerseyMagazine.com 4 |