Aug 7 - Top children's surgeon dies a hero after he drowns saving two young boys drowning in lake

Top children's surgeon dies a hero after he drowns saving the lives of two young boys drowning in Lake Michigan

Chicago is mourning one of its most talented children's surgeons today, after he died while trying to save the lives of two young boys.

Dr Donald Liu, 50, drowned in Lake Michigan as he went to help the children, who were struggling in choppy waters.

Dr Liu’s widow, Dr Dana Suskind, said the couple had been spending Sunday morning at a friend’s beach-side home with their children Genevieve, 13, Asher, 10, and Amalie, 7, when disaster struck.

After seeing the two boys in difficulties, the doctor went out to help before rescue workers could arrive.

The stricken boys survived the traumatic incident and were safely returned to the beach, but Dr Liu perished after being caught in a riptide at around 10am.

Tributes have poured in for the father-of-three, who was surgeon-in-chief and professor of surgery and pediatrics at Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago.

The Chicago Sun-Times quoted his friend and colleague Dr Jeffrey Matthews, chairman of surgery at the University of Chicago Hospital, who said: 'Dr Liu drowned while successfully saving two children who got caught in heavy surf in Lake Michigan.

'He managed to help them but he got pulled down by the undertow himself. He really died a hero.'

In an email to medical staff, the dean of the University of Chicago’s Medical School, Dr. Kenneth S. Polonsky, wrote: 'Don’s [rip] personifies a life that was devoted to saving children.'

Dr Liu's widow struggled to find words for her sorrow, saying: 'He was an amazing man. We are just all in shock.'

As the son of two doctors and a second-generation Chinese immigrant, Dr Liu had kept up close links to hospitals in China and was devoted to teaching the next generation of Chinese surgeons.

He specialised in Hirschsprung’s Disease — a congenital gut disorder — and pioneered minimally invasive surgery for children with tumours in their chests and abdomens.

His reputation was such that patients would seek out Dr Liu not only from across America, but even from overseas.

Last year, he was ranked as one of the city's top doctors by Chicago Magazine, and said of the honour: 'Those children without hope and with diseases that can’t be taken care of at other places — they come here [to Comer]. At the end of the day, the biggest impact you can make in anything is through kids.'


The Dean of the University's medical school commented that despite his eminence and the trials of his job, Dr Liu 'always put his patients and their families first.'

'Words cannot express the sorrow we are all feeling at this time,' he said.

The Chicago Tribune reported that a second man also died as a result of rip-tides on Lake Michigan on Sunday, mere hours later.

The victim was described as a 41-year-old male from west suburban Montgomery.

He is said to have drowned in 12 feet of water about 350 yards off Tiscornia Beach in St. Joseph, Michigan.

In a statement, St. Joseph City Public Safety said the man was pulled from the waters by U.S. Coastguard workers and taken to Lakeland Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Jeff Thornton, a dispatch supervisor for Berrien County Public Safety, said: 'It looks like he got caught in the rip. The rip current is just a huge undertow caused by large waves that causes suction.'

The same tidal force is believed to have played a part in both [rip]s.

Top children's surgeon drowns saving two young boys in Lake Michigan | Mail Online

[pic][pic][pic] to that man.

what a waste. think of all the kids he could have saved if he stayed alive.

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You know his family is pissed....always working saving kids lives....lthen he goes on vacation and dies saving kid lives.....hero indeed but !!ty husband and father

^^

I'd be proud of a family member dying for a cause higher than himself..

a !!ty husband/father is only !!ty if he is selfish, he died being selfless [pic]

deserves respect.

Ill give him that........but the irony of his [rip] has to be a slap in the face to his family just a little bit............

sounds bad,,, but its kinda true. [pic]

What if the story was changed to this?

"A children's surgeon is being criticized by the world for standing and watching while 2 children drown waiting for rescue teams to arrive. The surgeon tells NBC news that he worked his whole life helping kids and that it would be too ironic for him to jump in and save those kids".

Really man? Regardless of his !!ing occupation, it was his gut instinct to jump in there and try to save the kids.

Yeah but what if because of his job he always had to work around the clock 24/7 barely having time to see his wife or kids, and then while on vacation away from work and the world, he bravely risk his life to save 2 children drowning. A here he is and hero he always was, but to his children and wife he gave the world all his time and consideration and left them without him because of it. In that there is irony. And perhaps he missed out on another aspect of life. I know that takes away from the story and all, but what if that was your pops? How would you feel? [pic]

Hey...........my mind wanders.........[pic]

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i woulda let them dumb white kids drown

save that !! for hollywood

i swear it should be negligence to allow a minor in anything otha than a swimming pool.parents should be brought up on charges[pic]

I laughed when it said it was 12 feet deep [pic]

but damn he died doing what he loved [pic]

RIP man, you deserve it.

Always a jackass in the bunch.

RIP [pic]

Peace to his fam
DAMN YOU UNDERTOW!

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you hell man [pic]

!! hollywood.. go on n get that !! published if u think it's hollywood material. being honest here..

parents bein brought on charges? swimming in a river is pretty innocent to me, parents should've set boundaries or some !!. but charges? cmon son..