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Hello, my name is Christopher Trojak, I am the son of Dr. Joseph Trojak, a wonderful physician, friend and human being to many people in the West Chester, Pennsylvania area. Tragically, my dad died the evening of Thursday, October 20th, a sad loss to the world as he was truly a giving man with a huge and wonderful heart.
My father was a family doctor in the area for over 30 years, and he always put his patients first in his life. If there was ever a doctor out there in the world who would care more for his patients than himself, Joe was that person. He introduced himself as "Joe Trojak", not the cold, clinical "call me Doctor" type mentality that you experience with most physicians. Joe would work at his office from 7:30 AM every morning until 3 or 4 PM, and then come home and take phone calls usually until 8 or 9 PM at night almost every single day of his life. He gave most of his patients his home and cell phone numbers, and would typically receive many calls at all times of night. Joe would get awakened often at 3 AM with a "my stomach hurts and I cannot sleep" type phone call, yet he would not complain, instead he would help that person and try to get back to sleep if possible. Honestly he was the hardest working man I have ever known, and it is an honor to be his son.
Unfortunately, my dad put the health of others in front of his own. My father suffered many health problems in the last decade, a horrible fall on ice that crippled him with spinal stenosis, a misdiagnosis that left him with no left hip for over 5 years, (which he walked on without any painkillers every day) and tragically an ever-growing heart condition that led to his death at the WAY too young age of only 66. My mother, Loretta, (who was his office manager) my brother Daniel (who worked at the practice for over a decade) and myself as well, would constantly tell him to help himself and go get looked at for his many ailments. He always said, "I do not have time, I need to help my patients". My dad waited to long to get his spine worked on and it left him walking like he was 90 years old in his late 50's. We had to drag him kicking and screaming to even get that surgery, which was a failure and did not help him. He was misdiagnosed and the surgeon missed the fact that his hip had deteriorated away to nothing, which was easy to tell as he could barely walk. We all tried as his immediate family to get him to retire, seek a second opinion, or get another surgery. We wanted him to concentrate on himself and fix his ailing health. He flatly refused because he needed to be there for his patients and "did not have the time" to worry about himself.
The saddest thing is that he would only get any medical procedure done if it was absolutely necessary for him to function to "get back to work". He finally had his hips/spine re-evaluated and worked on in 2014 when he feared not being able to get around the office. He eventually had his cataracts fixed in 2013 only because he "feared missing something on an exam with a patient". As his family, we just wanted him to retire and work on his health, but he was a medical professional in the truest sense of the word and lived to help others and would take that mentality all the way to the grave. He always said his whole life, "I will work as a doctor until I die.", and while it seemed at the time like a just a morbid comment or his sense of humor, he unfortunately meant it literally. We had all told him to go to a cardiologist to get evaluated, as he seemed to have some breathing issues, but he refused and put it off because, "he needed to be at work helping his patients". This ardent care and concern for his patients cost him his life. He recently died of heart failure in his home, the saddest day of my life.
Many people since have told me that they would gladly trade places with my father so that he was still around to help others, and my brother, mother and myself would do it ourselves, but unfortunately that is not an option. He meant so much to so many people, and he caused so many to live, flourish and experience a better quality of life. He was always there to listen to a personal story and be a sounding board. He treated his patients as his friends, and considered them as such. Joe was a doctor, a listener and a best buddy to all those he encountered. He treated patients, drug reps, family members of patients, anyone he met as his equals, which is rare in any walk of life, let alone dealing with medical doctors. I miss my father more than words can say, and I can never truly express how much he meant to us all and how much his absence is felt.
Unfortunately, while my dad was an exceptional doctor, he was a horrible business man. He put all his money into his business, which is a dying breed, being a small family medical practice. You basically have to work for a large company such as Penn Medicine, Gateway or Aetna to make any money in the medical field. With as much money as medical insurance companies all charge us for coverage, we actually received more money per patient visit from them in the late 1980's than we do now. My father had hired many doctors along the way, hoping that they would buy into the practice and possibly take it over for him, so that he could give it to them at some point if he was no longer able to work. (Not SELL it to them, give it to them.) But sadly all of the doctors that he had hired over the years were mercenaries who just wanted a lot of money and then left when they found a better paycheck. In all honesty, my father never made as much money as the younger doctors that he hired for the last 12 years. In fact, in the past decade, just to keep the practice going, during the last decade, Joe would put almost all of his income back into the office. He made less than $10, 000 a year most of the last decade. My dad made far less than minimum wage, in fact he made less than our janitor, and more than six times less than our medical billers. My mother, my brother and I, often did not receive any paychecks so that we could pay the other employees. My brother Daniel even worked almost a whole year without getting paid. My father cashed his large life insurance policy out prematurely to keep the office running, and also cashed his 401 K policy as well. He asked my mother to do the same, and she complied, for the good of the office. We had to refinance our house and give up basically all of our personal assets just to kep the office going. I realize that no one held a gun to his head and made him do this, it was his own decision. That is just who he was, he lived for his patients, and to help others.
While trying to cope with the unimaginable loss and tragedy of losing my father, my mother, brother and myself have also lost our jobs and total source of all our income. My dad had a minimum life insurance policy at the time of his death that barely will pay for the cost of his not even elaborate funeral. He had no investments, no backup plan, and owns no assets. We cannot even sell our house (which is 45 years old) because the landlord at our medical office has a lien on it. I hate to do this, I hate to get on here in front of the world at this time of incredible grief and ask for monetary help, it seems shallow and degrading to me, but desperate times call for desperate measures, in all honesty we are desperate. I am sorry to be so brutally honest here, but if anyone out there cared about him and if he helped you in anyway, if you could spare anything to help Dr. Trojak's wife and two remaining sons to get by while we try to survive the mess that life has left us, it would be greatfully appreciated. I am looking for a job right now, but times are tough, jobs are few, and the bills are piling up. We as Dr. Joe Trojak's remaining family, just want to have a roof over our heads while we try to rebuild a new life. The medical office is closed and we have to sadly move on from the life we knew, and the man we loved and admired, my father, Dr. Joseph Trojak.
If anyone can help us in anyway, it would be greatly appreciated. I have run into so many people since my father died, and they all say, "If you need anything......." and I know there intentions are good, but I would never ask them for money to get by. Unfortunately, at this point, my family, Dr. Trojak's family, has no other option. Please donate any amount, however small, and it would mean the world to us, literally. We need the money as soon as posible, as we could not even afford his funeral if not for my mother's generous sister and the rest of my mom's kind family. I wish my dad was alive and things were the same way that they were before, even with however little money we had when he was around and the practice was barely getting by. That cannot happen.
My heart and blessing goes out to all my dad's patients, I miss you all and good luck with a new doctor. It was an honor knowing all of you.
Love, blessings and thanks,
Sincerely,
Christopher Trojak
Loretta Trojak
and Daniel Trojak.
My father was a family doctor in the area for over 30 years, and he always put his patients first in his life. If there was ever a doctor out there in the world who would care more for his patients than himself, Joe was that person. He introduced himself as "Joe Trojak", not the cold, clinical "call me Doctor" type mentality that you experience with most physicians. Joe would work at his office from 7:30 AM every morning until 3 or 4 PM, and then come home and take phone calls usually until 8 or 9 PM at night almost every single day of his life. He gave most of his patients his home and cell phone numbers, and would typically receive many calls at all times of night. Joe would get awakened often at 3 AM with a "my stomach hurts and I cannot sleep" type phone call, yet he would not complain, instead he would help that person and try to get back to sleep if possible. Honestly he was the hardest working man I have ever known, and it is an honor to be his son.
Unfortunately, my dad put the health of others in front of his own. My father suffered many health problems in the last decade, a horrible fall on ice that crippled him with spinal stenosis, a misdiagnosis that left him with no left hip for over 5 years, (which he walked on without any painkillers every day) and tragically an ever-growing heart condition that led to his death at the WAY too young age of only 66. My mother, Loretta, (who was his office manager) my brother Daniel (who worked at the practice for over a decade) and myself as well, would constantly tell him to help himself and go get looked at for his many ailments. He always said, "I do not have time, I need to help my patients". My dad waited to long to get his spine worked on and it left him walking like he was 90 years old in his late 50's. We had to drag him kicking and screaming to even get that surgery, which was a failure and did not help him. He was misdiagnosed and the surgeon missed the fact that his hip had deteriorated away to nothing, which was easy to tell as he could barely walk. We all tried as his immediate family to get him to retire, seek a second opinion, or get another surgery. We wanted him to concentrate on himself and fix his ailing health. He flatly refused because he needed to be there for his patients and "did not have the time" to worry about himself.
The saddest thing is that he would only get any medical procedure done if it was absolutely necessary for him to function to "get back to work". He finally had his hips/spine re-evaluated and worked on in 2014 when he feared not being able to get around the office. He eventually had his cataracts fixed in 2013 only because he "feared missing something on an exam with a patient". As his family, we just wanted him to retire and work on his health, but he was a medical professional in the truest sense of the word and lived to help others and would take that mentality all the way to the grave. He always said his whole life, "I will work as a doctor until I die.", and while it seemed at the time like a just a morbid comment or his sense of humor, he unfortunately meant it literally. We had all told him to go to a cardiologist to get evaluated, as he seemed to have some breathing issues, but he refused and put it off because, "he needed to be at work helping his patients". This ardent care and concern for his patients cost him his life. He recently died of heart failure in his home, the saddest day of my life.
Many people since have told me that they would gladly trade places with my father so that he was still around to help others, and my brother, mother and myself would do it ourselves, but unfortunately that is not an option. He meant so much to so many people, and he caused so many to live, flourish and experience a better quality of life. He was always there to listen to a personal story and be a sounding board. He treated his patients as his friends, and considered them as such. Joe was a doctor, a listener and a best buddy to all those he encountered. He treated patients, drug reps, family members of patients, anyone he met as his equals, which is rare in any walk of life, let alone dealing with medical doctors. I miss my father more than words can say, and I can never truly express how much he meant to us all and how much his absence is felt.
Unfortunately, while my dad was an exceptional doctor, he was a horrible business man. He put all his money into his business, which is a dying breed, being a small family medical practice. You basically have to work for a large company such as Penn Medicine, Gateway or Aetna to make any money in the medical field. With as much money as medical insurance companies all charge us for coverage, we actually received more money per patient visit from them in the late 1980's than we do now. My father had hired many doctors along the way, hoping that they would buy into the practice and possibly take it over for him, so that he could give it to them at some point if he was no longer able to work. (Not SELL it to them, give it to them.) But sadly all of the doctors that he had hired over the years were mercenaries who just wanted a lot of money and then left when they found a better paycheck. In all honesty, my father never made as much money as the younger doctors that he hired for the last 12 years. In fact, in the past decade, just to keep the practice going, during the last decade, Joe would put almost all of his income back into the office. He made less than $10, 000 a year most of the last decade. My dad made far less than minimum wage, in fact he made less than our janitor, and more than six times less than our medical billers. My mother, my brother and I, often did not receive any paychecks so that we could pay the other employees. My brother Daniel even worked almost a whole year without getting paid. My father cashed his large life insurance policy out prematurely to keep the office running, and also cashed his 401 K policy as well. He asked my mother to do the same, and she complied, for the good of the office. We had to refinance our house and give up basically all of our personal assets just to kep the office going. I realize that no one held a gun to his head and made him do this, it was his own decision. That is just who he was, he lived for his patients, and to help others.
While trying to cope with the unimaginable loss and tragedy of losing my father, my mother, brother and myself have also lost our jobs and total source of all our income. My dad had a minimum life insurance policy at the time of his death that barely will pay for the cost of his not even elaborate funeral. He had no investments, no backup plan, and owns no assets. We cannot even sell our house (which is 45 years old) because the landlord at our medical office has a lien on it. I hate to do this, I hate to get on here in front of the world at this time of incredible grief and ask for monetary help, it seems shallow and degrading to me, but desperate times call for desperate measures, in all honesty we are desperate. I am sorry to be so brutally honest here, but if anyone out there cared about him and if he helped you in anyway, if you could spare anything to help Dr. Trojak's wife and two remaining sons to get by while we try to survive the mess that life has left us, it would be greatfully appreciated. I am looking for a job right now, but times are tough, jobs are few, and the bills are piling up. We as Dr. Joe Trojak's remaining family, just want to have a roof over our heads while we try to rebuild a new life. The medical office is closed and we have to sadly move on from the life we knew, and the man we loved and admired, my father, Dr. Joseph Trojak.
If anyone can help us in anyway, it would be greatly appreciated. I have run into so many people since my father died, and they all say, "If you need anything......." and I know there intentions are good, but I would never ask them for money to get by. Unfortunately, at this point, my family, Dr. Trojak's family, has no other option. Please donate any amount, however small, and it would mean the world to us, literally. We need the money as soon as posible, as we could not even afford his funeral if not for my mother's generous sister and the rest of my mom's kind family. I wish my dad was alive and things were the same way that they were before, even with however little money we had when he was around and the practice was barely getting by. That cannot happen.
My heart and blessing goes out to all my dad's patients, I miss you all and good luck with a new doctor. It was an honor knowing all of you.
Love, blessings and thanks,
Sincerely,
Christopher Trojak
Loretta Trojak
and Daniel Trojak.