Petty Tributes Continue from Colleagues and Fellow Oxygen Users

DENVER — Oxygen users and others in the pulmonary community are mourning the loss of a friend and champion, as witnessed from the tributes that are still appearing on the Denver Post guest book for the late Tom Petty, MD, FAARC.

Petty, a pioneer in pulmonary care and, in his later years, an oxygen user himself, died Dec. 12 at his Colorado home following a lengthy illness. He was just 12 days shy of his 77th birthday.

"Every person in the world that has been treated for [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] today and in the past has had a better quality of life and lived longer because of Dr. Petty's life-long dedication to the cause, including myself," wrote Rusty Sherrill, Sophia, N.C. "We owe him much more than words alone can express … his work and dedication in the pulmonary field of medicine will continue to benefit us all in the future."

Petty was a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver and at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago. He  also served as an adjunct professor of medicine at the University of Kansas and held consulting positions at numerous other universities and facilities.

He was widely thought of as the father of pulmonary rehabilitation. Indeed, his book, Intensive and Rehabilitative Respiratory Care, written in 1971, is looked upon as the authority in respiratory care practice. Petty also founded the National Lung Health Education Program, which championed earlier detection of COPD by encouraging primary care physicians to use spirometry.

A pioneer in studying ambulatory oxygen, Petty early on envisioned the lightweight portable oxygen systems that exist today, a dream he shared through numerous organizations, including the American Association for Respiratory Care.

"Many physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists owe a great deal to him, not just because he spent countless hours helping us to help our patients, but also because he continued to challenge and inspire us to do better," said Sam Giordano, executive director of AARC.

He not only influenced professionals in the pulmonary community, he also touched oxygen users themselves. The author and editor of 45 books or editions, including Adventures of an Oxy-Phile, Petty also interacted with oxygen users through a question-and-answer column, "Ask Dr. Tom," that appeared for many years on the AARC Web site, YourLungHealth.org.