MICHAEL BLACKSTONE

Doctor black diagnosed me with acid reflux when I was 20 years old in 1991. He was one of my favorite doctors. He took good care of me. He treated my mother to for Gerd. I will miss Doctor Blackstone. Excellent Doctor. He was my doc from 1991 until 2003! Love you Doctor Blackstone. I know God has a Angel!

I will so miss this amazing character. I first met Dr. Blackstone in 1978 as an Intern at the University of Chicago. We were very close over the next 6 years as I completed internship, residency, GI fellowship, and one year as an attending physician. I was blessed with both a professional and personal relationship with this unigue gentleman; a time to this day that has been truly cherished and meaningful to me, my career and in turn to my patients. "MOB" or "Stone" as I called him was...

Dr. Blackstone was a magnificent teacher with encyclopedic knowledge. I credit him with teaching me how to explain abdominal pain and constipation to patients, and thus relieving me of the fear that gripped me when I saw such patients early in my fellowship. I recall walking into his office with questions. He would answer me and refer me to articles(s) that he would locate immediately among the numerous paper stacks in his office. His Endoscopy textbook was an invaluable aide to my training....

Dr. Blackstone was a classmate of mine at NY Medical College, Class of '65. He was quite the character as a medical student. I lost touch with him after graduation and was saddened to hear of his passing. His family should be comforted by his many contributions to gastroenterology, about which I just learned. RIP.

Interesting how some things stay in our memory forever. During my first year of residency many centuries ago, I presented a case at the Medicine M&M conference on ischemic bowel necrosis due to polyarteritis nodosa. I still vividly remember Dr. Blackstone in one of the front row seats. He asked a few questions, and afterward shared some kind words about my talk. It meant a lot to me in that stage of my training.

Dr. Blackstone was one of the most memorable and influential teachers during my gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Chicago. His aphorisms and clinical pearls playback from my memories in my head as I practice today. He loved to learn and to teach and he taught so passionately that working with him became such a singular experience. And his love of language and written expression was also exceptional (I can still remember the words I learned from him, embarrassingly for the first...

Funny, irreverent, obscenely generous. He taught me to love medicine and Belgian beer. I am grateful to have known him.

I first met Mike in November 1979 when he interviewed me for residency at the University of Chicago. I guess I passed his test because I matched at the U of C where I continued my career as a gastroenterologist. A week doesn't go by that I don't impart words of wisdom I learned from Mike, to those starting their careers. He always demanded the best from those he trained as well as colleagues. He insisted on evidence based medicine before the term was in vogue. A great teacher that all of...

Michael Blackstone taught me gastrointestinal endoscopy as a fellow at University of Chicago in the late 80´s. As a teaching endoscopist myself inspired by his skills I´ve taught nearly 100 fellows using his techniques and methods for teaching this amazing skill set. He thought me to be descriptive in my documentation and to carefully separate what I saw; my findings, from what I thought it was; my impression. I still impart that wisdom to all of my fellows. His insistence that endoscopists...