Obituary of Miguel Antonio Espinal Santos

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Dr.  Miguel Antonio Espinal Santos on April 7th, 2023.  A Celebration of Life will be held for Miguel on Friday April 14th at Adams-Green Funeral Home located at 721 Elden Street, Herndon, VA. The family will welcome guests at 10:30 am and the service will begin at 11 am.  Immediately following the service, a reception will be hosted at the Weinschenk residence; details to be provided at the service.  For those who cannot attend the service, a live stream of the Celebration of Life will be available at https://adamsgreen.com/ by clicking the "View Service" link below.

Miguel Antonio Espinal Santos was born in Monte Cristi, on July 4th, 1964 and spent his childhood and early adulthood in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic .  Son of Persido Espinal and Andrea Santos, he was the second of five children and the second son.  He attended Padre Fortin high school, followed by his undergraduate and medical school at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra followed by a year of rural service.  He completed his medical training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the Instiuto Nacional de Cardiologia Ignacio Chavez in Mexico City, Mexico.

He loved cardiology and was accepted in the research training program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  His dedication to cardiology was evident to all who worked with him.  It was at UAB that he met the love of his life, Virna Dapic. They started dating in 1998 and in 1999 he moved to Puerto Rico, to continue his training in internal medicine.  Miguel and Virna spent the next few years traveling between cities to see each other and in 2003 decided to settle in Florida, where Miguel started a job as a physician in a hospital in Fort Myers.  After a year in Fort Myers, he moved to Tampa, to be close to Virna and the two of them lived the Florida life.

They were married in Bradenton Beach, FL in February of 2008 and shortly after welcomed their first child, a son, Nicolas.  In 2012 they welcomed a baby girl, Stella and their family was complete and life was amazing.  Nicolas and Stella have always been his North Star.  

In 2013 the family relocated to Virginia.  Miguel always dreamed of having his own practice and that became a reality in 2015.  He loved being a physician, and he was an excellent one.  Medicine was his calling.  His patients appreciated his knowledge, his bedside manners, his kindness and his humanity. He loved the personal connection he established with his patients and most of all, he enjoyed helping them recover and manage chronic and complex conditions. He was always learning, always reading. His medical journals accompanied him everywhere, including the beach.  He was well respected in the medical community.  

Unfortunately, in 2018, Miguel was diagnosed with head and neck cancer and shortly after decided to close his practice.  Since then, he worked as a hospitalist in some of the largest hospital systems in the region and beyond.  Despite the cancer’s relentless returns, Miguel remained optimistic and endured multiple treatments over the years.  

Miguel is survived by his wife Virna (Dapic), his children Nicolas and Stella, Miguel Eduardo, his father Persido Espinal and his mother Andrea Santos,  his brother Pedro (Lisette) Espinal, Caridad Espinal, Andrea Espinal, Margarita (Robert) Espinal, his nephews David, Mark, Andrew, Emilio, Luis, and Julian and his nieces Masiel, Daniela, Jennifer, Stephanie and extended family.

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to make memorial contributions in memory of Miguel may consider donating to a fund established to benefit his children: https://gofund.me/1247377a