About five years ago, I told Dr. Richard Giustra, the esteemed Brunswick surgeon and longtime community volunteer, People Plus presenter, creator of “Rollerlates,” and longtime wrestling coach, that he was (to coin a phrase) a pain in my neck. And he really was!
He laughed hardily at my saying this because no one ever told the doctor that he was a pain in their neck, did they? So he laughed and laughed because, of course, I followed it up with “You are in my office every week with a new idea, a new presentation, or a new project to get people to be healthier and to think about their well-being. And I don’t know how you come up with them Doctor!”
But that’s what he did – every day. Dr. Giustra was a generator. He was a generator of ideas, of accomplishments, of programs, of crafts, of PowerPoint projects, and of friends. And I tell you there was not a week that went by that he didn’t stick his neck in the door of my office to see if I had just five minutes to hear about a new idea or thought he had that day.
Rich, as we all called him when we weren’t referring to him as “The Doctor,” never stopped learning or creating ideas. I remember when he started offering talks at the People Plus center, he didn’t really know how to use PowerPoint. He would pop down to my office at least three times a week to ask a question about inserting a video or formatting the font, or adding a photo or linking to the internet. By the end of three years of “Healthy body talks with the Good Doctor” presentations, he knew PowerPoint better than anyone at the center!
Because that’s what he did. He came up with an idea and he jumped in with both feet. The Doctor single-handedly created at least four programs at the People Plus Center in the last 10 years. My favorite was the “Rollerlates” program. It was a combination of Pilates using a hard Styrofoam tube on the floor. If you performed the Pilates moves using the hard tube, you got a better workout. And he was so invested in this program that not only did he do it every day, he even copyrighted the name and the idea!
He also founded our Wednesday biking group. Fondly called the Easy Riders, Rich was their fear-less leader. And when it got too cold in the winter to ride bikes, he took them outside every week for what he called the “Winter Outing Club!” That group is still going strong and they miss Rich. He was such a lovely driving force and was so unassuming with a boyish twinkle in his eye and an infectious grin that he seemed to wear at all times. But don’t let that grin fool you, he knew what he was about.
And he was about good health and having fun. I don’t think there was a day of his life that he wasn’t focused on helping other people be healthy. He was the quintessential medicine man, creative with his ideas, creating new products, oils and lotions, creating exercise programs, giving lectures and talks to help others understand how their body works and how they could be healthier.
Also never one to miss a meal, Rich could be found at every luncheon, every party, the men’s breakfast, sometimes the women’s breakfast, and all of the trips and excursions. He went apple picking, on field trips, attended all lectures with Bowdoin College professors and never missed an opportunity to learn something new.
And then there was the day a few years ago when he called me and asked if he could come see me. It sounded serious, so of course I agreed and he came right over to the center. He shared with me that he had been diagnosed with ALS. It’s a horrible diagnosis that no one ever wants to receive, but the Good Doctor was taking it in stride and his knowledge of health and medicine helped him through the next few years of his life while his body failed him. He never let us see him suffer. He continued to bike with his beloved Easy Riders and come to events at the Center as much as he could. I know they took a toll on his energy levels and when we touched base with his lovely wife Karen, she always put on a brave face and told us they were fine.
Well, our doctor has finally let go.
And when Karen came to the center on Friday to get her haircut, I gave her a hug around the neck and we shared a laugh thinking about how Rich would be so happy that the pandemic was ending and people were coming back to the center for exercise.
Thinking about the doctor makes me want to give him a hug around the neck. It actually reminds me of a song from my childhood that goes, “I love you a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck, a hug around the neck, and a barrel and a heap, a barrel and a heap, and I’m talking in my sleep about you, about you, about you. We love you!”
And we sure did love you, Dr. Giustra, and we will miss you at the People Plus Center. Gosh, I wish you would just pop into my office one more time. For a quick hug around the neck.
Stacy Frizzle-Edgerton is the executive director of People Plus, the Brunswick-area senior center.
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