i'm sure they'll find someone else to take over but all the same, it's quite a blow isn't it.
I used to be in a squash team that had a cantankerous paeds specialist as captain. He was a terrible sport and had a nasty temper but with patients, he was the best you could wish for. He was wiped out in a car accident, not even 50 years old, young family. Terrible for the community.
You never know what's around the corner...

As for my GP, she orders bloods (on request) takes an interest in me and gives me Beta scripts. Can't ask for more. All for $10. When I was diagnosed, she was shocked and blurted out that a colleague of hers from med school was diagnosed and 'she's in a wheelchair now!!'. Not quite what I wanted to hear, but at least she has an awareness of the potential path of things.