About 8:40 a.m. Saturday, I received a phone call from Jay Sweeney, the director of public relations and marketing for the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital, informing me that Dr. Bernard Brucker, a pioneer in the research and treatment of spinal-cord injuries, passed away Friday night of an apparent heart attack.

Sweeney called me because I spent about an hour on the phone with Dr. Brucker late Friday talking about former Detroit Lion Mike Utley. Brucker had long treated Utley, who was paralyzed in a game 17 years ago, and shared with me his thoughts on the lineman's spirited and intense recovery and helped explain medical terms beyond my comprehension.

"I know if he had spoken to you about Mike Utley, I know the joy with which he would have talked about that and I know how much that moment meant to him and Mr. Utley's recovery," Sweeney said. "I was very struck by how fitting and nice that would have been if that was one of the last things he would have spoken about."

Indeed, Brucker talked with great passion about Utley, whose recovery has affirmed much of Brucker's research. While most spinal-cord-injured patients experience few gains after the first six months of their injury, Utley continues to gradually improve function today. On Friday, Utley was presented the DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan's President's Award for Excellence for his work with spinal-cord injuries.

On a local level, Brucker was helping to train a therapist who will work at the Mike Utley Human Performance Center, a RIM facility that intends to be one of the leading biofeedback centers in the country. That work, like Utley's recovery, will endure.