For those patrons of MacRumors who've been around for a while, it is with a sad heart that I announce that MacRumors member @Shrink has passed away. @Shrink's real name is Dr. Richard Hanish, Ph.D. of Stoughton, MA. His profession was psychology, and he was in practice until about ten years ago. He was in his late 70s when he died.
![Dr Richard Hanish.jpg]( "Dr Richard Hanish.jpg")
About ten years ago, he suffered a fall down his stairs, where he broke his neck and had severe spinal cord injuries. After many months of physical therapy, he learned to walk and use his arms again to varying degrees. He also suffered severe nerve damage in his arms, which contributed to severe pain 24 hours a day. Within a year or so of the fall, he also suffered a cardiac event and died on the emergency room table for 30 seconds. Doctors revived him and then placed a pacemaker inside of him to regulate his heartbeat.
This series of events is what led to his departure from this forum. Typing and active participation were too much for him to manage after his accident. Speech-to-text was an option, but it still needed to be more convenient for use on an internet forum to be effective and worth his effort.
Despite all this, he and I remained good friends for about 14 years after meeting on the MacRumors forum. We were virtual pen pals, exchanging daily emails for years. There were text messages from time to time and an occasional FaceTime chat.
We would discuss various things in our lives, and Richard took particular interest in my two cats, Puma and Cassini. Puma, unfortunately, passed away two years ago at the age of 16. He was my best friend. Cassini is seven years old and still with me. Richard loved to get photos of Cassini and Puma and rejoiced in their silly kitty antics. Richard said he used to have two cats many years ago and loved them very much.
Richard lived alone and rarely left his home except to visit the doctor and pharmacy. He had no other friends but me, with whom he communicated regularly. He has an ex-wife he rarely spoke about, and I don't know how often they communicated. He also has a sister who has full-on dementia and has been this way for years and has been unable to speak.
Richard and I became friends after I was diagnosed with diabetes and had to find a new source of caffeine, as I could no longer have soda pop. I never liked coffee because my dad drinks instant coffee, which I found gross when I tried. Richard and some others here on MacRumors helped me understand and learn what proper coffee is like, and I tumbled down the rabbit hole of espresso machines, pour-overs, and fresh-roasted coffee beans.
Richard also turned me into fine scotch whisky. His favorite, and now mine, is The Macallan single malt Highland scotch whisky.
Every evening at 1930 (7:30 pm), we would virtually, through email, clink glasses and wish each other "cheers" as we sipped our scotch.
The last time I heard from him was Sunday evening at scotch time.
On Monday morning, I did not receive my customary email from him. I emailed him around 9 am and heard nothing all day while at work. By 5 pm, I called his cell phone, and there was no answer. The worst had occurred since we had never missed a day without emailing one another in years.
When I got into the office this morning, I called the Stoughton, MA, police department to ask for a welfare check on Richard. A little while later, a sergeant called me back, regretfully informing me that Richard had passed away yesterday.
Richard had a habit of occasionally sending me email links to bottles of The Macallan Scotch, which sold for thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. He would say, " Get a bottle of this for me, and get one for yourself, too! "
He once sent me a link to The Macallan Rare Cask, which was about $300 at the time. I bought it then. I still have the bottle but only break it out on special occasions.
Tonight, at 1930, I took out the bottle of Rare Cask and poured a dram in Richard's honor.
Cheers, doc! 🥃
About ten years ago, he suffered a fall down his stairs, where he broke his neck and had severe spinal cord injuries. After many months of physical therapy, he learned to walk and use his arms again to varying degrees. He also suffered severe nerve damage in his arms, which contributed to severe pain 24 hours a day. Within a year or so of the fall, he also suffered a cardiac event and died on the emergency room table for 30 seconds. Doctors revived him and then placed a pacemaker inside of him to regulate his heartbeat.
This series of events is what led to his departure from this forum. Typing and active participation were too much for him to manage after his accident. Speech-to-text was an option, but it still needed to be more convenient for use on an internet forum to be effective and worth his effort.
Despite all this, he and I remained good friends for about 14 years after meeting on the MacRumors forum. We were virtual pen pals, exchanging daily emails for years. There were text messages from time to time and an occasional FaceTime chat.
We would discuss various things in our lives, and Richard took particular interest in my two cats, Puma and Cassini. Puma, unfortunately, passed away two years ago at the age of 16. He was my best friend. Cassini is seven years old and still with me. Richard loved to get photos of Cassini and Puma and rejoiced in their silly kitty antics. Richard said he used to have two cats many years ago and loved them very much.
Richard lived alone and rarely left his home except to visit the doctor and pharmacy. He had no other friends but me, with whom he communicated regularly. He has an ex-wife he rarely spoke about, and I don't know how often they communicated. He also has a sister who has full-on dementia and has been this way for years and has been unable to speak.
Richard and I became friends after I was diagnosed with diabetes and had to find a new source of caffeine, as I could no longer have soda pop. I never liked coffee because my dad drinks instant coffee, which I found gross when I tried. Richard and some others here on MacRumors helped me understand and learn what proper coffee is like, and I tumbled down the rabbit hole of espresso machines, pour-overs, and fresh-roasted coffee beans.
Richard also turned me into fine scotch whisky. His favorite, and now mine, is The Macallan single malt Highland scotch whisky.
Every evening at 1930 (7:30 pm), we would virtually, through email, clink glasses and wish each other "cheers" as we sipped our scotch.
The last time I heard from him was Sunday evening at scotch time.
On Monday morning, I did not receive my customary email from him. I emailed him around 9 am and heard nothing all day while at work. By 5 pm, I called his cell phone, and there was no answer. The worst had occurred since we had never missed a day without emailing one another in years.
When I got into the office this morning, I called the Stoughton, MA, police department to ask for a welfare check on Richard. A little while later, a sergeant called me back, regretfully informing me that Richard had passed away yesterday.
Richard had a habit of occasionally sending me email links to bottles of The Macallan Scotch, which sold for thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. He would say, " Get a bottle of this for me, and get one for yourself, too! "
He once sent me a link to The Macallan Rare Cask, which was about $300 at the time. I bought it then. I still have the bottle but only break it out on special occasions.
Tonight, at 1930, I took out the bottle of Rare Cask and poured a dram in Richard's honor.
Cheers, doc! 🥃
