My dear friend David Stabler has died.

It was a difficult blow, made worse by the fact that his bone marrow transplant had seemed to be a success, his appetite and energy returning, allowing him to go home. We were traveling in the area and had hoped to see him shortly after he was released from the hospital.

But his respite was short-lived, an infection forced his return to the ICU and proved too difficult for his baby-new immune system to handle.