Richard Satin was sure he was dying.
Things had been fine until the fall of 2025. He had enjoyed the summer with his wife and 8-year-old daughter, including taking a trip to Disney. But in October, he woke up in the middle of the night in agony.
When his wife, Farrah, rushed him to a Long Island hospital, tests showed his blood sugar was spiking. Doctors found he had developed diabetes. They also identified a blood clot in his portal vein, which connects the gastrointestinal tract to the liver. They treated the clot and stabilized his diabetes. He was discharged a week later with the new diagnosis.
But it was the start of a vicious cycle. Within days, Satin was in pain again and returned to the hospital. Doctors had few answers. During one visit, a doctor recommended a high-fiber diet. Another visit came with a recommendation for a liquid diet. Nothing helped.
Soon, Satin lost all appetite. Eating a bowl of Jell-O became an achievement. His daughter became frightened by his appearance. His favorite hobby, golf, was impossible. By mid-December, he had lost 70 pounds. His wife was at the end of her rope.
“Farrah just looked at me and said ‘We can’t go down this path anymore. We’ve got to do something,'” Satin recalled.
The couple began reaching out to specialists, but many weren’t available for months. Satin, convinced he wouldn’t make it that long, made an appointment with a concierge doctor, Dr. William Klein. On Christmas Eve, he had his first appointment with Klein.
“He examined me for a couple of hours, took lots of vials of blood, and said, ‘If you don’t have surgery immediately, you are in trouble,'” Satin said.
A life-saving surgery
Klein determined that Satin had an issue in his gastrointestinal tract, but was stumped on exactly what was wrong. He referred Satin to a surgeon, Dr. Gary Gecelter, chairman of the Department of Surgery at St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center. Gecelter reviewed Satin’s case and repeated all the tests Klein had done.
Gecelter found that Satin had an “unusual inflammatory problem” in his digestive tract. That had led to an inflammatory reaction of the blood supply to the stomach, causing a clot in his liver and a bowel blockage. Previously, doctors had focused on the clotting problem. But Gecelter thought if he removed the part of the small bowel that was getting inflamed, it would help Satin recover.
In early January, Gecelter performed a complex but minimally invasive surgery to remove the inflamed part of the small bowel. Satin “woke up literally saying he felt better,” Gecelter said.
“I thought that was more of a placebo effect than reality,” Gecelter said. “But the next day, he was tolerating liquids. Within two days, he said he felt his (symptoms) were resolved.”
Three days after the operation, Satin was discharged. Less than a week later, he was back to eating his favorite foods. Within three months, he had regained half the weight he lost.
Satin said he was shocked to feel so much better so quickly, especially because it had taken so long to receive a diagnosis.
“It was surreal,” Satin said. “There were a lot of moments in October, November, December, that I couldn’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, so many days of not eating, missing Thanksgiving and holidays and birthdays. But I learned a lot in the process.”
A “lovely” letter of gratitude
As Satin recovered, his daughter Becky watched with relief. For months, her dad hadn’t been able to golf with her or attend her school events. She had worried he would never feel better. To express her gratitude, she wrote a short letter to Gecelter.
“It would have been really bad if he didn’t live,” Becky said. “I’m happy he did, and I’m so excited to do so many fun things with him. I wrote the letter to say thank-you to the doctors.”
A photo shows Satin, Becky and Gecelter all standing together and smiling, with the 8-year-old holding up the note. Gecelter said he keeps the letter in his office.
“I get beautiful letters, especially around the holidays, but this was a stand-out,” Gecelter said. “It was written by a child under 10, in her own language. It expressed a sincerity that only a child can convey. It was lovely.”
“I don’t take any of it for granted”
Six months after his operation, Satin celebrated with a massive party at the country club he and his family belong to. Friends and family were invited. Klein and Gecelter were named the guests of honor.
Satin remains in good health. He has regained much of the weight he lost, though his appetite is smaller than it used to be. He’s back on the golf course and attending his daughter’s school events. He has made some lifestyle changes to accommodate his diabetes diagnosis, such as watching his blood sugar and avoiding alcohol and fried foods, but his condition is stable.
Gecelter said he has not been able to understand why Satin became sick in the first place, so there’s “no saying whether what caused that initial condition could” happen again. But if it does, now doctors will know where to look, Gecelter said.
Satin said he is eager to get back to traveling and to continue spending time with his family. In June, the trio went on a vacation that was initially scheduled for December and had been rescheduled because of his illness.
“I made a promise to my wife 20 years ago that I was going to give her 50 years, so she’s holding me to another 30,” Satin joked. “I don’t take any of it for granted.”
