Aware of the disease he was suffering from, a terminal cancer, he said goodbye with a song titled “My own life”:

“I can’t pretend I’m not afraid. But my predominant feeling is gratitude. I have loved and been loved; I have received much and I have given some of my share; I have read and traveled and thought and written.”

Nine years earlier he had been diagnosed with an ocular melanoma that was treated by radiation, as a result of which he lost the sight in his left eye. In his letter he described how grateful he felt for the nine years that followed, during which he was in good health and could continue his work as an educator, and his decision to make the most of the remaining months of his life.

He dedicated his life to scientific dissemination, recognized among all types of public his works influenced many neurologists before and after deciding his specialty.

A few months ago, on the occasion of Sacks’ farewell, Dr. Oriol Franch wrote an article in his personal blog: .

Another member of our team, Dr. Monica Kurtis, Director of the Movement Disorders Program, told El Mundo about her personal experience: “I was very impressed by his work when she was a student and was able to meet him personally during her stay in the United States: “He had a great impact on me. In fact, I have specialized in movement disorders, which is one of the subjects he has touched on most in his books”. In addition to his ability to disseminate, she emphasized “the importance he gave to listening to the patient” and that it is “something we have to learn from. Patients have fascinating stories that if you don’t stop long enough you will never know. And it is something that is fundamental to understand what is happening to them, what their needs are and how best to care for them.

“When people die, they cannot be replaced. They leave a hole that cannot be filled in as it is the destiny – genetic and human – of every human being to be unique, to find his own way, to live his own life, to die his own death.” Oliver Sacks