Fellow surgeon and former premier Dr. Andrew Furey says he was ‘deeply saddened’ to hear of the passing of Dr. Falah Maroun, a neurosurgeon who dedicated his life to the care of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
Dr. Maroun famously came to the province in the late 1960s for what was supposed to be a three-week locum, but ended up staying, becoming the province’s Chief of Neurosurgery, a position he held for the next four decades.
Furey, who calls Maroun a great friend and mentor, says the story of how his medical service in Newfoundland and Labrador began is the stuff of legend.
(Andrew Furey/Facebook)
“He came from Montreal to do the locum, and as he was leaving Dr. Shafter came to get him at the airport and told him that he couldn’t leave, that he needed to be part of something special here in Newfoundland and Labrador in building surgical services. You have to remember, it was the 60s and he was the only neurosurgeon at the time here. Specialty surgical services were certainly rare in Newfoundland and Labrador and were just developing… across the country at the time.”
Furey says Dr. Maroun left his mark on countless patients and their families.
(Andrew Furey/Facebook)
“He fell in love with the place, he fell in love with the land, of course he was known for his garden in St. John’s, he liked to flyfish, but more than any of that, it was the people and the families he served. He was a man of service.”
