A “compassionate” doctor who served his community for decades has died suddenly, causing great grief among friends and patients.
Dr Mark Bartsch passed away on April 2, just months before celebrating his 25th year working at Healthlink Family Medical Center in Cranbrook, south-west of Townsville.
He was known to be an “empathic and hard-working” general practitioner who supported generations of locals and will be “hard to replace”.
His heartbroken wife of 28 years, Taryn Claire, shared the devastating news on social media Tuesday.
‘Today I woke up with a very heavy heart. “My world has been turned upside down when my loved one has chosen his own timeline to leave,” said Mrs. Claire.
Dr Mark Bartsch passed away on April 2, just months before celebrating his 25th year of work at Healthlink Family Medical Center in Cranbrook, south-west of Townsville.
Dr. Bartsch’s heartbroken wife of 28 years, Taryn Claire (pictured together), shared the devastating news on social media on Tuesday.
“This has left me heartbroken, shocked, heartbroken, confused, bewildered, sad, traumatized…
“There were no signs or leading indicators, there were no real clues, and this has been a complete and utter shock.”
Claire started a Facebook group titled ‘Remembering Mark’ for those who knew her husband to share their grief over the death of the popular doctor.
In an emotional post on social media, he added: “Nothing can prepare anyone for this level of shock.
‘I have lost my friend, my companion, my lover. I have lost my anchor. I have lost my person.
‘After 28 years together and believing we would have more than double that together, I’m still processing.
‘There is pain for all the future things we will not do together. There is anguish, sadness, pain, brokenness.
“I feel abandoned and lost.”
There has been an outpouring of grief from locals who said Dr. Bartsch “faced it, rain, hail or shine, and dedicated his life to helping others.”
A man who had been a patient of Dr. Bartsch for 15 years said that “he helped me a lot and always had time for me when I needed it.”
‘I feel like I’ve lost a good friend. A good man gone too soon.
Another patient of “over a decade” said she was “completely devastated by the news of his passing.”
“I don’t know what I will do without him,” she wrote, adding that Dr. Bartsch “was a great support to me and I feel like I have lost a member of my family.”
A woman thanked her doctor for “saving my life” when she discovered she had breast cancer.
“(He) had a huge impact not only on my life, but also on the lives of my family,” she wrote.
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