Readers remember Dr. Desmond Henry

Myron Yaster MD

From Rita Agarwal MD, FAAP, FASA, Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology, Stanford University Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Past President Society for Pediatric Pain Medicine 

I am heartbroken at the loss of Desmond Henry. Desmond was one my mentors, colleagues, and friends. He was an important part of my training at Children’s Colorado (then known as Denver Children’s Hospital) and the Chief of Pediatric Anesthesiology there for many years. I have so many great memories of Desmond from the many years ( 6 years ) that we worked together, but most of all I recall his kindness, his calmness and the genuine joy he brought to everything he did and everyone he worked with. He and his lovely wife Mercedes where among the most caring people I have met. He was fluent in Spanish, a brilliant, compassionate doctor both in the PICU and in the OR and a genuine supporter of his faculty. He cared how we were, how we were doing and how he could help. When I think of Desmond, I always think of him with a big smile on his face and his desire to always do his very best for his faculty. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I ever heard him lose his temper or raise his voice. His children and his wife were also so important to him and he was an incredible role model in being both professional and a proud , involved, and caring parent. He is the person that I knew would understand why I wanted so much time off after having my twins returning at only 50% FTE., during a time that the division was extremely short staffed.  He brought color, calm and kindness to all he knew. He will be so missed.

From Charles Dean Kurth MD, John J. Downes Chair, Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

Desmond was a forward thinking, genuine leader, and a kind, honest, caring, and compassionate person for the patient, clinician, and employee in the department.  He was a people’s leader, keeping at eye out for the clinicians’ and employees’ well-being, well before that term became popular.  He frequently traveled to all anesthesia locations and spoke with the clinicians in action, learning what was and was not working, and the stress they felt or did not feel.  He seemed to know everybody by name- anesthesiologist, surgeon, and nurse. When he walked through the lounge, people smiled as he greeted them. They trusted and respected him.

Desmond, Randy Clark, and I were the founders of the Pediatric Anesthesia Leadership Council (PALC).  In 2008, Desmond and I began discussions of the idea for the PALC, with Randy joining in soon thereafter. We had regular 3-way meetings until the PALC was officially founded in 2009. (photo below of the 3 of us in 2012. Desmond, Randy and I drafted the bylaws, including membership criteria, PALC organizational structure, meeting agendas, and culture, as well as recruited members to the PALC, growing from an initial group of 20 departments to 70+ today. Its growth reflected the “value add” to the pediatric anesthesia chiefs. The PALC includes academic and non-academic members. 

Desmond, Randy, and I led the PALC until 2014, at which time Dean Andropoulos was elected to be president of the PALC. Desmond and I remained on the PALC board for several more years to guide Dean and subsequent presidents. In 2018, Desmond stepped down from the board while I continued until 2021. Desmond was a forward thinker. He recognized that the purpose of the SPA was for the members of the society, to educate, promote research, quality and safety, and connect them. What was missing was a forum for the chiefs to connect, learn from each other, and develop strategies to move the departments forward. In other words, there was a gap between the SPA board and the membership to be really effective, and that was the chiefs! PALC and SPA work in harmony which creates more power to create change, drive education, research, quality and safety, professionalism, etc, and achieve consensus. 

As I look back to those years, the PALC would not have formed without Desmond, nor would it have become effective and successful without his leadership and actions before, during and after the meetings.  Desmond made a positive impact on pediatric anesthesia as a specialty through the PALC and his departmental leadership at Colorado and Dallas, and to patients by empowering and promoting the professionalism and well-being of pediatric anesthesia clinicians and employees.  He valued and exemplified respect, compassion, professionalism, and integrity, which enabled him to achieve the positive impact.

From Richard Knox, MD, Medical Director of Anesthesia Services (retired), Shriner’s Hospital of Greenville, Greenville, SC

Thank you for sharing the tribute to Desmond. I was a pediatric anesthesia fellow at The Children’s Hospital of Denver in1985-86 where Desmond was part of an exceptional faculty. He was a gifted pediatric anesthesiologist and intensivist but, above all else, he was a great human being.  He taught me many things but his examples of how to treat everyone with respect and how to be kind guided me daily throughout my career. I will forever treasure the times I got spend with Desmond, Mercedes, and their family as he made a displaced southerner feel at home in Colorado.
“Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis”  (May his faithful soul rest at the right hand of God)

From Nancy Glass MD

Desmond had terrific energy and many great ideas for strengthening our fellowships and our departments.  Always affable and polite, even when he disagreed with you.

From Ron B. Mitchell, MD, Professor of Otolaryngology and Pediatrics
Chief of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center

Desmond Henry was a friend, colleague and mentor. He would often say that he is coming to see me so I can mentor him. But he always mentored me on work and life. This continued even after his retirement. Desmond’s warmth and sense of humor were standout qualities. He had a knack for lightening the mood with a well-timed joke or an encouraging word, which made even the longest meetings more bearable. His genuine interest in his colleagues' lives and well-being way after his retirement were admirable. Desmond loved his family and friends and will be missed. He was a truly outstanding individual.

From Courtney Derderian, MD

'They' say you won’t remember what someone said, but how they made you feel. And Desmond Henry made me feel heard, admired, and seen even in the very junior days of my career as a pediatric anesthesiologist.  Professionally, he gave me roles immediately I had no business having and supported me wholeheartedly.  Personally, he watched me meet my husband, get married, have two children all well applauding these personal achievements, not viewing them as a threat to my academic career. Desmond truly felt like a Dallas father to me and my biggest cheerleader.   He was a truly great man and he represented the generation of physicians I have already started to mourn. The kind, never too busy, always engaged leaders that I feel so grateful to have been trained by.

From Peter Szmuk MD

I have known Desmond since 2007 when he become our chef at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, TX. We had a good professional relationship, and soon we became close friends even though our beliefs and life experiences were very different.  He was a nice, quiet, deep-thinking person who had a significant impact on the development of our pediatric anesthesia division. We remained in contact after his retirement which coincided with the onset of his progressive neurodegenerative condition. At the beginning of his illness, we were able to go grab a beer with a few of his friends, and later one when his movement was limited, we visited him at home. I will always remember our time together and our long conversation.

This is the last picture we had with him earlier this year.

From David Polaner MD, FAAP   Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle Children’s Hospital 

I first met Desmond Henry when I interviewed for a position at Denver Children’s (before it became Children’s Hospital Colorado). At that time there were still two groups of anesthesiologists there, one of full time university faculty (at the time very small, if I am not mistaken consisting only of Rita Agarwal, Rob Friesen, and Charlie Lockhart) and the other, a private practice group, although the two groups worked together and the casual observer would be hard pressed to know who belonged to which group. Charlie was the department chair, and Desmond was the head of the private group, and both correctly assumed and supported the fact that I would join the university group. When Desmond succeeded Charlie as chair he moved to the university group- I believe that it was a stipulation to being a department chair.

Desmond was a great chairman; I think this is because he was no different as chair than he was as a person. Kind, generous with his time and resources, honest and fair, he was the kind of leader that predated the MBA-management-centric type that seems to be sought after for hospital leadership today. He gave me leadership opportunities and was always supportive of my academic pursuits and those of my colleagues, helping to further the solid academic reputation of the department that Rob and Charlie had pioneered and built even although he was not an academician himself. His sincerity and friendship is something that I will always remember- you always felt that he really cared about you and the department, and that, I believe, was the key to his success.

It was an honor and a pleasure to be a member of his department, and I know that he will be deeply missed by anyone who knew him. May his memory be a blessing.

From Huy Do M.D.:

There’s no one specific memories of Dr. Henry but I want to share that he was an incredible leader, mentor and generous person.  There was a great sense of warmth and caring that he had for us.  I truly believe he looked at this department as his family and not as worker bees.  He knew all of our backstories and would take the time to specifically ask us about our families.  He was a leader that lead by example by doing cases and still being in the trenches.  And there is a lot to be said about “breaking bread” with us…meaning sitting down at the lunch table and having conversations with us.  Of the many things that I am grateful was being the first male colleague to be able to take paternity time off (6 weeks) and having no pushback .  Despite being from the older generation, he was progressive and knew the importance of this concept.  I had many stresses about fatherhood during the first several years and would tell him my concerns and fears.  He would listen, and sometimes laugh, but would always be reassuring and compassionate.  These are the things I wanted to share about him.

From Patrick Olomu, MD, FRCA, University of Iowa Health care, Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Iowa City, IA.

“What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we deeply loved becomes a part of us.” – Helen Keller

Desmond: Your light has illuminated our paths and may it never go dim. Amen

From Myron Yaster MD

Desmond and I were fellow fellows at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 1981 and stayed in contact over the years, primarily by catching up and sharing a “liquid libation” at the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia’s annual meetings.

A memory that I have and would like to share involved Desmond’s military service during the Viet Nam war. Unlike most of the other doctors I knew at the time, Desmond didn’t have a student deferment and was a combat veteran and a platoon sergeant during the Vietnam war. He fought in the jungles and lost many of his comrades. Years after our fellowship time, he invited me to join him in Colorado to go hunting in the mountains and I explained that I had never held a gun or gone hunting…he laughed and told me that it would be photography “hunting” only and with that knowing smile told me he had seen enough blood shed to last a life time. Rest in peace my friend and may your memory be a blessing.

From Robert Friesen MD

Desmond has been a close personal friend and colleague since he arrived in Denver in 1982. He immediately made his mark as a skilled intensivist and anesthesiologist. His skill and collegiality earned the respect of the entire medical staff. He was a natural leader and easily stepped into the role as chair of the department when Charlie Lockhart retired in 2007. We continued to meet for dinner at meetings after he moved to Dallas. He is one of only a few individuals who has made significant leadership contributions in two premier institutions. Thanks for the memories, Desmond

!