Posted by Mike on January 02, 2003 at 11:22:23:
In Reply to: Re: Dr. Cox posted by John W. Gross on January 02, 2003 at 10:18:26:
John -
That sounds like my experience. When I met with Dr. Cox on Good Friday at Barnes in 1990, he took several hours with me (he was still in surgical attire, having taken care of an emergency from California that morning). The cardiac surgical floor had people there from all over the United States and even other countries. On the day of my surgery, doctors from different parts of this and other countries observed. As one of the doctors said, "Dr. Cox is a real whiz and regularly has surgeons from everywhere around the globe observing." I had done hundreds of hours of study at a local hospital's medical library, and actually knew more about WPW than my local cardioligist, yet Dr. Cox's grasp made me look like a kid. I'd been to the Texas Heart Institute to consult with Dr. Cooley the Summer before. Cooley's own EP man advised me, on the sly, to go to Cox. Dr. Cox was very diplomatic, but said that the workup from Texas was incomplete, and that they'd repeat it. Incomplete, and Cooley is no slouch! Dr. Cox stated modestly that they were about five years ahead of everyone else in arrhythmia work, and took forever answering my questions. It was as if I were the President, or a member of his family. We even chatted personally. He was ultra observant and intuitive, and obviously super bright, yet was such a nice guy, he'd be first on your list for a backyard cookout.The man who was my roommate had had Maze surgery. He was a completely illiterate logger, who had gone no further than the 4th grade, yet it was the genius of Cox, that he understood completely what was wrong with him, and what the procedure had entailed. That day we consulted, Dr. Cox even took me on a tour of the cardiac floor, showed me the operating room, and introduced me to a patient he'd just completed surgery on. He seemed to move just fine then (he was 48), but maybe his knees got him later.
Later, he even sent me video tapes of WPW surgery, because he knew I was so interested in it. People talk about doctors having God complexes. Here is a regular guy who is a god, yet is more humble than any normal person. When his entourage swung into my room, it was relaxed, but he was still in charge. He asked if my followup EP study could be squeezed in in three days, and someone started to argue with him about scheduling, etc. The residents in the group were mortified that someone was so stupid to do that, but rather than cutting the guy a new asshole, Dr. Cox just paused, smiled slightly, and repeated his request. Then dufus finally realized his mistake, and said he'd get right on it!
Enough rambling. I would love to make contact with him again. There has not been a day in the last 12-1/2 years that I haven't thought of him at least once. My Mom even sent to Barnes and got a picture of him as a Christmas present, which is hanging along with other family members. The man ~is~ family!
- Re: Dr. Cox Carl Plaskett 20:33:43 1/02/2003 (1)
- Re: Dr. Cox Mike 01:32:36 1/07/2003 (0)