Nimoy's COPD Doctor Discusses Star's Final Wish

Principal photography has started on COPD: Highly Illogical: A Special Tribute to Leonard Nimoy and we now have more footage available to share with StarTrek.com readers. The following clips feature Dr. John Belperio, who was Leonard's personal physician/pulmonologist at Ronald Reagan/UCLA Medical Center in L.A. Dr. Belperio treated Leonard during the last few months of his life and they formed a very close relationship during this period. It started in November 2014, by which time Leonard's health had been declining for the past six months, and Leonard met with Dr. Belperi based on the strong reputation of UCLA Medical Center and Dr. Belperio for treating COPD patients.In the first clip below, we asked Dr. Belperio to recap what he discovered upon examining Leonard and running a series of tests.

In the second clip, we asked "Dr. B"  -- this is what Leonard called him -- if Leonard had ever discussed with him his desire to educate and create awareness for COPD. By this point, Leonard had become a strong advocate for COPD awareness/education, which has now become known as his "Final Mission."

We are nearing the end of the 30-day crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise the funds necessary to complete production of COPD: Highly Illogical. We have gotten together some great rewards and have some never-before-seen footage of my father. Please join us in fulfilling Leonard Nimoy's final wish to help prevent the loss of millions of lives.

Julie Nimoy & David Knight

______Julie Nimoy is the daughter of Leonard Nimoy and co-producer of COPD: Highly Illogical—A Special Tribute to Leonard Nimoy, while David Knight is Julie's husband and co-producer of COPD: Highly Illogical.