From Dr. Roanne Preston (Department head), with thanks to Dr. Umedaly for writing this tribute:
It is with profound sadness that I inform you of the tragic loss of our beloved friend and respected colleague Pieter Swart on May 25th at 0530 PST.
Pieter succumbed while descending below Camp 4 on Everest/ Chomolungma due to an undefined, at this point, respiratory event. Pieter was lost to us while bravely pursuing his dream of being on top of the world, since he was nine. As many of you know Pieter had an insatiable wanderlust.
Many of you know Pieter as an incredibly generous, warm, caring physician, a loving family man profoundly proud of his wife, Suretha and two grown children Marna and Pieter. He is also survived by his mother, sister and brother in SA.
Pieter was a highly capable and trusted anesthesiologist and perioperative physician . He was a leader and strong educator. The residents and fellows loved working with him. He inspired so many. He has left a strong legacy of contribution in BC and Canada. He was the fabric of our profession and made us all proud to be colleague.
Pieters sense of humour was second to none. Laughing was always part of the encounter and you always parted smiling. He was a trusted friend to many.
Pieter always made your day (and night) better when you interacted with him. He was a boet ( brother) to so many.
We will arrange a memorial/ celebration of life, in time, in concert with Pieters family. There will be stories to tell of the tremendous effect he had on all of us and his patients.
I’m sure you will all agree that we were all enriched, and the world is a better place, because Pieter Swart lived.
With love to his family and his Anesthesiology community.
Hamed
on behalf of his family of Anesthesiologists at Vancouver Acute
Hamed Umedaly MD FRCPC
Anesthesiologist
Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Care VGH and UBCH Clinical Professor
Faculty of Medicine
Department of Anesthesiology
University of British Columbia