Back in the days when I was a health reporter for TVNZ, people around the hospitals would speak in reverential tones about the Galler brothers.
David Galler and his brother Les worked at either end of the city as intensive care specialists – Les at Auckland, David at Middlemore.
It wasn’t until I got a job in communications at Middlemore a couple of years ago, that I came to fully realise the breadth of David Galler’s influence.
His tenure as an intensivist spanned 30 years, during which time, he became one of the most respected and beloved clinicians in Middlemore’s history.
He had a titanic reputation as a doctor who would fight fiercely for his desperately ill and often socially disadvantaged patients.
David became a towering figure as an advocate for societal health reforms – lobbying successive health ministers over many years on issues like tackling chronic obesity and ill-health in South Auckland.
The son of Polish Jewish refugees, Galler grew up, went to uni and worked in Wellington before studying medicine and working in London.
As the years went by, while breaking new ground at Middlemore as well as internationally, he made constant trips to Wellington to help care for his dying mother – who had survived Auschwitz.
The tales of this multi-faceted journey were celebrated in both a book and a play last year, called, “Things that Matter,” in which David Galler recounts his extraordinary professional and personal life.
Both the book and the play are written lyrically and warmly – including stories based on real-life events describing the everyday dilemmas and challenges that doctors and patients commonly face.
“Things that Matter” was described as, “a masterful tour through the mystery and majesty of modern medicine, guided by a world-class physician who has the mind of a superb scientist and the soul of a fine poet.
“It speaks to the resilience of individuals and families and their extraordinary generosity and dignity under the most extreme pressure. This book is about realistic optimism and is a celebration of life.”
I wish I had gotten to know David Galler better!