The journey of the surgeon-hero

Excerpt

An article on how to give an effective presentation warns speakers never to start with a joke or by thanking people. I will take that advice on the first point, but certainly not on the second because I have many families of people to thank for allowing me to get to this place and time: my parents, Ed and Virginia, who sacrificed so much for all 12 of their children; my own family including my incredible wife Mary, who is our foundation, and my children, Bryan, Caroline, Eddie, Teresa, Paul, and Audrey, all here today and each making me proud daily; my several surgical families; my early mentors in Minnesota including Richard Lillehei, who first taught me the importance of thinking for myself in surgery, and David Anderson, the senior surgical resident who, when I was a second-year medical student, let me take call with him on Friday and Saturday nights and taught me all the basics; and my teachers at Rush Medical College of Rush University in Chicago including Steve Economou, Harry Southwick, David Roseman, Al Straus, and especially my now senior partner, Alex Doolas, who still is the best surgeon I have ever seen; my fellowship mentors at the Lahey Clinic including John Braasch, Ricardo Rossi, David Schoetz, and John Coller, who first brought me into the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) nearly 20 years ago. …