Matthew Perry Was Classy

He gave us a gift, even in death

Hearing the news of Matt Perry's death? It sucked. Matthew Perry is someone I do not know personally. I did appreciate his work. He was the only thing that made the show Friends tolerable!

Everybody knew young people shouldn't just die in the tub. Of course there is going to be an autopsy. Of course there was going be a finding.

As a physician, particularly one who deals with individuals who, while young, are at risk of death from addiction or psychiatric illness, getting news of the death of a prominent person is always a little bit of weird balancing act. When we're dealing with “public death,” I'm aware of that there is a risk of contagion, and we've covered this problem before on this very newsletter.

When I find out someone has died, and it's in the news, I have the thoughts:

“Oh, God, please let it be a heart attack. Or a stroke. Just not suicide. I'd prefer it being overdose, a little. Just not suicide. Please. Not another one.”

I fully recognize that heart attacks are not…