A blog covering the health/care ecosystem and people.

“Live long and prosper,” Mr. Spock repeated, like a mantra, throughout his life.

We say goodbye, on this dimension anyway, to Leonard Nimoy, who passed away today at the age of 83.

Star Trek is a staple entertainment — perhaps even a relaxation therapy — in my home. So Mr. Nimoy’s departure from the Planet is indeed a sad event here.

In thinking about Spock’s mantra about living well, I am reminded of an interchange between him and Captain Kirk in the Star Trek movie, The Wrath of Khan. In that film, Spock is severely irradiated while saving the ship, and is dying. Here is repartee between these two foils:

Spock: “Do not grieve, Admiral. It is logical: the needs of the many outweigh…”

Kirk: “The needs of the few…”

Spock: “Or the one.”

Here’s the video of that scene (and pls be patient and get past the ad to get to the scene) –

Fast-forward to Leonard Nimoy’s last tweet (as @TheRealNimoy), issued on February 25, 2015, at 236 am:

A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP

Mr. Nimoy succumbed to end-stage Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Here he is on Piers Morgan’s show one year ago, imploring people to quit smoking:

Health Populi’s Hot Points:  First, hug your loved ones. As J.K. Simmons insisted on last Sunday’s 87th Academy Awards show receiving his Oscar for supporting actor in Whiplash, “Call your parents.” (Were mine still here in this dimension, you’d best believe I’d be calling them now. I watched Star Trek on TV as a little girl with my wonderful parents).

Second: If you have people who use tobacco products in your life, share this second video with them. Ask them to quit. Beg them to quit. Smoking cessation is one of the four key things we can do to bolster health and stave off non-communicable disease – in this case, lung and heart conditions.

Third: Patronize businesses that do not sell tobacco. CVS pharmacy re-branded and re-imagined itself as CVS health last year, and Wall Street and investors liked it: the company ended up with a profitable year. Think about socially responsible investing: many mutual funds focus on businesses that are pro-health and community, and avoid investing in tobacco and other industries that diminish public health.

Fourth: Know that you are Connected when it comes to health. The research of Christakis and Fowler points out that within your social networks, or your networks’ social networks, there are people whose health behavior actually impacts you directly: binge drinking, addictions of all sorts, obesity, smoking, and other health issues. This speaks to public health, and Mr. Spock’s conversation with Captain Kirk: there are the needs of the many, the few, and the one. The many and the few impact the one: and the one impacts the many.

Fifth: LLAP.

RIP, Mr. Nimoy. We loved you here in Casa Kahn.