One More Thing: Remembering a surgeon's good works - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

One More Thing about the sad but inspiring story of Dr. Donald Liu. Besides the obvious tragedy of his drowning while saving the lives of two boys in Lake Michigan, there's something else that troubles me about this story.

Ever since that tragic Sunday, we've been hearing about the courage and goodness of Dr. Liu, the internationally recognized Chicago pediatric surgeon. His advice, expertise and dedication are well-known.

At the University of Chicago, where he was chief of Pediatric Survery, also at Edward Hospital in Naperville where he worked once a week as lead pediatric surgeon -- someitmes he would perform five surgeries in one day there. Numerous accounts of Dr. Liu's accomplishments have told how he would wake up at 2 in the morning, be in the operating room in 15 minutes, save a child's life, then go home, back to sleep and an hour later wake up and return to the O.R., operate for hours, grab lunch, go to another hospital and save another life.

What's been bothering me as I've been hearing all the wonderfuls stories of Dr. Liu's accomplishments and goodness is that we're showering these accolades on him now-- after he's gone.

It would be nice to figure out more ways to publicly acknowledge on a regular basis all the everyday heroes in our neighborhoods -- give them more time on the news and space in the paper, especially in these times of mass shootings and horrible crimes.

I think we'd feel a lot better about ourselves.