Michael Armstrong
Michael Armstrong FRACS
21 November 1961 - 28 April 2015
Orthopaedic Surgeon
It caused great sadness to hear of the unexpected death of Michael Armstrong at the age of 53. Michael was a wonderful friend, father, husband and surgeon. He is survived by his wife Adele and two daughters Bridgette and Olivia, as well as his brother John. Michael cared for and helped those around him immensely - not only his family and patients but also his colleges and staff.
I first met Michael in primary school at Grimwade House (Melbourne Grammar junior school). At school he was routinely called "Rouge" for his full head of curly red hair. He was in the year ahead of me and captain of Austin House; we viewed him with awe. He was both smart and excelled at sport, particularly football but also athletics. At senior school the story repeated itself: Rouge went on to Captain Miller House and played in the first eighteen. He was a keen student and was thoroughly immersed in school. He took part in the Quad Play, the chapel choir and received a number of prizes including one for music.
Michael set a lasting school record for the hurdles and shot put as well as achieving a silver medal in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. Michael went on to study medicine at The University of Melbourne. He was resident in Trinity College, where we lived on the same floor for a year or two. Rouge approached life with gusto. He partied, he played football and was tremendous fun. He was a student at the Royal Melbourne Hospital where he went on to become a resident after graduating in 1984. Michael maintained contact with Trinity, continuing to tutor anatomy until 1991. He also stayed very involved with football, working as an assistant medical officer of his much loved St Kilda until the same year; he never lost his passion for the sport or the club.
Michael moved from Melbourne to Ballarat in 1986, where he initially was a resident and then an Emergency Medicine registrar. He very nearly completed emergency medicine training but was convinced to switch to orthopaedics and joined the Victorian program in 1993. Michael went on to complete fellowships in adult hip reconstruction at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, in knee arthroplasty and reconstruction in Derbyshire Royal Infirmary and latter Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham.
He then returned to Melbourne, starting a private practice primarily in hip and knee surgery. He took up consultant positions at Maroondah, Box Hill Hospital and The Alfred. By 2002 Michael's sole public hospital was Box Hill, where he went on to become head of unit and since 2012 the Clinical Director of Orthopaedic Surgery for Eastern Health. He served on the Clinical Advisory Board of the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria, on the AOA orthopaedic selection panel and AOA board of studies, the RACS basic surgical training interview panel and in private the Epworth Eastern Council of clinicians. In these positions Michael worked hard. He was a strong supporter of the trainees; he bolstered the position of orthopaedics and resisted the pressure to conform to bureaucratic demands so often inflicted in the public system.
Michael first met Adele at The Melbourne. They married in 1991 at the chapel of Saint Andrew in Grimwade House and went on to have two children: Olivia and Bridgette. Michael loved Adele and their children immensely and despite a busy timetable remained immersed in their lives. Michael was an enthusiast. He was a wonderful man, a skilled clinician, a first rate surgeon and great friend. He is an exemplar to be emulated. He is sorely missed.
William Edwards FRACS
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