On July 22, 2015, I learned that my long-time colleague, co-author and friend, Nicholas J. Gonzalez, M.D., passed away late on July 21. He and I met on October 31, 1983; he was the intern, I the medical student on my internal medicine rotation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. We worked together in one capacity or another for more than 30 years.

     Some of you knew Nick. But anyone who knows me knows at least a little bit of Nick, for he made such a large impact on my life. Indeed, he once commented that my writing style was similar to his, perhaps because I had edited so much of his work. The last email I got from him, a few hours before his death, congratulated me about the acceptance by a medical journal of an article of mine, "Research Battles." I am still comforted by this.

     Ten years have now passed. I have continued the work we shared. I have seen patients, published scientific articles, and given lectures, always giving credit where credit is due. I know that is what Nick would have expected. I believe he would be proud.