THANK YOU!

Last week there was a memorial service at the Church of the Good Shepherd. We have a lot of services at Good Shepherd, but this one, especially for me, was different – the guest of honor was not present. The guest of honor, a physician and surgeon, wasn’t present because he had returned to medical school one last time. On this final return the guest of honor was not taking care of patients; he was doing what he did so well for sixty years – he was, or would be, teaching.

Dr. Arthur Lee Humphries, my teacher, colleague and dear friend, gave his final earthly remains to a few doctors of tomorrow. Those medical students will not know him, but will receive foundational knowledge that will last them the rest of their lives. I know they will appreciate his gift because the anatomy lab is the starting point of all medical knowledge. Every physician is formed in that place.

Dr. Humphries gave the last thing he had to medicine, but he had given so much more during his life. His accomplishments in transplant medicine are legendary, but one stands out above the rest. He was the first researcher to be able to preserve a kidney for 24 hours. His technique allowed organs to be brought in from almost all over the world. Untold lives were saved because of his discoveries. I am pleased to report that I had a small part in this major medical event. When I was a medical student at MCG I was poverty stricken, so I took any paying job that would have me. Dr. Humphries hired medical students to “baby sit” the kidneys at night while they were being evaluated by the various preservation techniques he was studying. It would have been an easy job except for the fact that Dr. Humphries would show up at any time during the night to “see how things were going!” When he did come in at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning he checked on things, but always taught us about the complexities of kidney function. He also paid us the hourly wage of one dollar!

At Dr. Humphries’ memorial service I again felt the presence of the spirit of someone who had much to do with my formation, not just as a surgeon, but as a healer. During our decades of time together Dr. Humphries, without ever saying the word, showed me the true meaning of doctor-patient relationship – altruism –“the practice of selfless concern for the well-being of others.” If my memory serves me right, someone named Jesus gave us the same example!

I thank God for His weaving my life with so many people of quality. I am all the better for it, but I have one significant regret. I never thanked Dr. Humphries for being a significant piece of the mosaic that is me.

I hope I’m not going to forget to say thank you to my teachers and friends still living. You might want to consider that as well.

Peace,