My brain is reluctant to accept that our handshakes and hugs at the Napier Airport were the last ones… I still see him alive, wearing his embroidered Ukrainian shirt, a wide leather belt, singing "Dumy moyi…" (My free Thoughts) written by the famous Ukrainian poet Shevchenko, the song that might be very ordinary for any foreigner, but so dear to the heart of everyone from that part of the world…
Konstantin Pavlovich really led a frugal life. The main treasure for him was the respect of his patients and their trust in him.
The following is my translation of an extract from the book describing the memories of his patient who had a whole bunch of serious illnesses in her past, and who was very desperate to find Dr. Buteyko living far away in Siberia. At that time he was her final hope and last resort…
" I was told that somewhere in Novosibirsk there is a doctor who can really help to fight such diseases. His former happy patients gave me his address and telephone number, however, warned that writing letters to him is a useless stuff, because his apartment was piled with them. I decided to dial his phone number. Long dialling tones… and suddenly I heard: "Buteyko speaking…" I don't remember how we got to Academtown where Siberian scientists live…The next day I went to his private flat which was very modest. The patients were invited to a room with two rows of chairs standing opposite each other. Konstantin Pavlovich asked everyone to take a seat. He noted down all our diagnoses, explained the essence of his method and afterwords asked us to relax and breathe "shallowly" enough to feel some lack of air. I had to concentrate all my will in order to follow his instruction. The only moral support to fulfil this drastic task was the people sitting nearby, who wer e in the same situation and for whom this flat was like a hopeful refuge from their desperate lives. Sometimes it was a real torture to follow a required pattern of breathing and we used to fail coping with it. At such moments K.Buteyko was angry and even unceremonious.
Someone remarked to him: "Doctor, such language is not appropreate for your position…" Then Konstantin became more lenient and spoke the phrase which I will remember to the end of my life: " My dear people, my method helps those who have will power. Those for whom the will is a weak spot will die of their illnesses."
I heard about this Man and his Method forty years ago, never expecting to be privileged to know him personally and to learn his method and teach others. Being an extraordinary person, Dr. Buteyko realized that the doctor is destined to compile knowledge and teach others how to be healthy rather than treat them with medication. His friend and mentor, the famous Ukrainian scientist-cardiologist Nickolai Amosov, who also passed away in February this year in Kiev at the age of 89 wrote: "…If modern medicine is still trying to improve the treatment of people, rather than learning to teach them how to be healthy, then I can predict that in 15-20 years one half of the whole of humanity will be sick and the other half will nurse those who are sick."
Konstantin Buteyko, being a person and professional of high integrity, you preferred a difficult but honest life, never regretting one moment of it.
Rest in peace, Konstantin Pavlovich, your life's work will be always kindly remembered and appreciated by those whose lives you touched and to whom you were the respected Teacher.
Leo Volkov