When people look at my career, they often see the surgeon. They see the hospitals. The publications. The television appearances. The innovations. The awards. The international lectures.
What they do not always see is the person who has been beside me through every one of those chapters. My wife.
A partnership, not a separation
People sometimes ask me how we have managed to build so many projects together. My answer is always simple. We have never separated our lives. We work together. We travel together. We vacation together. We solve problems together. We dream together.
Many people believe that working with your spouse is difficult. For us, it has been one of the greatest blessings of our lives. She has never simply been my wife. She has been my closest advisor. My greatest supporter. My strongest critic when necessary. The person who reminds me to see the bigger picture.
Today she serves as the Executive Director of Hospital CYNTAR®. But her influence began long before the hospital existed. She has participated in every important decision throughout our journey. Every major project. Every challenge. Every risk. Every success.
Hospitals are not built by surgeons alone. They are built by people who believe in the same vision. At the center of that team has always been our partnership.
Alexa
Together we also experienced one of the most important chapters of our lives. Our daughter, Alexa.
When Alexa was very young, she was diagnosed with autism. Like every parent receiving unexpected news about their child, we entered a world we did not fully understand. There were questions. Uncertainty. Hope. Fear. Determination. Most importantly, there was love.
As physicians, we understood medicine. As parents, we discovered that medicine alone was not enough. We needed patience. We needed faith. We needed resilience. We needed to believe in possibilities that others sometimes questioned.
Watching Alexa grow became one of the greatest privileges of my life. Every milestone felt meaningful. Every achievement carried deeper significance. Over the years she continued surprising everyone — including us. She matured into an extraordinary young woman. Dedicated. Intelligent. Disciplined. Curious.
Today she is a Biology student at UCLA with a 4.0 academic record. Potential should never be defined by a diagnosis. Every child deserves the opportunity to surprise the world.
Alexa's PLAYC
Alexa's journey also inspired us to think beyond our own family. We asked ourselves a simple question: if our experience helped us, how could it help others?
That question eventually led to the creation of Alexa's PLAYC Autism Discovery Institute at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. Like many projects throughout my life, it began with a personal experience. Then it became a commitment to serve others.
Medicine has taught me that the most meaningful innovations often emerge from deeply personal experiences. The operating room has taught me countless lessons. Parenthood has taught me even more.
Why I began this journey
My family has always reminded me that success cannot be measured only by professional accomplishments. Hospitals matter. Research matters. Innovation matters. But none of those achievements have meaning if they come at the expense of the people you love.
Throughout my career I have tried to remember that every patient who enters my office is also someone's husband. Someone's wife. Someone's daughter. Someone's son. Someone's parent. Someone's entire world. Perhaps becoming a father made me a better surgeon. It certainly made me a more compassionate human being.
Family has also taught me patience. Innovation often moves quickly. Life rarely does. Some of the greatest victories cannot be measured in months or years. They unfold over decades.
Every time I look at my family, I am reminded why I began this journey in the first place. Not to collect accomplishments. Not to build hospitals. Not to gain recognition. But to improve lives. Beginning with the people I love most.
Looking back, I realize that every institution I have helped build carries a piece of my family within it. Compassion from my mother. Discipline from my father. Partnership from my wife. Hope from my daughter. Those values cannot be purchased. They cannot be taught in medical school. They are lived. Every day.