Teamwork is part of everything we do at Cleveland Clinic. This book is no exception. My deepest gratitude goes to the patients and families who shared their inspiring stories with us. May you always enjoy the best of health.
Thank you as well to all the doctors and administrators who took time out of their busy schedules to be interviewed and, in some cases, to read through chapters of the manuscript. Your assistance was invaluable. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Jim Merlino, chief experience officer of Cleveland Clinic, and Dr. Jim Young, chair of the Endocrinology & Metabolism Institute and executive dean of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, for taking the time to review the manuscript and offer helpful suggestions and comments.
Linda McHugh, executive administrator of Cleveland Clinic, oversaw the project from beginning to end with good sense and good judgment. Helen Rees, our literary agent, found a home for the project and shepherded it to completion. Steve Szilagyi, marketing communications, and Seth Schulman of the Providence Word and Thought Company provided editorial assistance. Thank you to each of them. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Anita, for her patience and support in this and all my endeavors.
I would like to acknowledge the following people by name for having made this book possible: Dr. Stephen Abfall, Barb Ackerman, Ansleigh and Crystal Adkins, Sue Andrella, Beth Armstrong, Darlene Ballantine, Guido Bergomi, Dr. Gene Blackstone, Dr. Brian Bolwell, Dr. George Thomas Budd, Natoma Canfield, Tony Carosella, Chris Coburn, Joanne Cohen, John Cromer, Connie Culp, Dr. Nina Desai, Megan Doerr, Bill Donato, Dr. Charis Eng, Dr. Tomasso Falcone, Dr. Kathy Franco, Dr. Mark Froimson, Steve Glass, Dr. Eiran Gorodeski, Dr. Tom Graham, Dr. Joe Hahn, Dr. C. Martin Harris, Iyaad Hasan, Dr. Michael Henderson, Beth Hertz, Matthew Hiznay, Dr. Shazam Hussain, Ann Huston, Dr. Joseph Iannotti, David Jesse, Maria Jukic, Dr. Matthew Kalady, Dr. Michael Kattan, Dr. Eric Klein, Pastor Patrick Kleitz, Dr. Deepak Lachhwani, Dr. Sara Lappe, Dr. Bret Lashner, Dr. David Levin, Dr. David Longworth, Doug Lyons, Paul Matsen, Tabitha McClendon, Terri McCort, Stephen McHale, Rosemary and Connor Menneto, Dr. Jim Merlino, Dr. Michael Modic, Dr. William Morris, Jeanne Murphy, Dr. Imad Najm, Dana and Grant Osborne, Jean Parrish, Dr. Shannon Phillips, Carol Reid, Dr. Michael Roizen, Dr. Eric Roselli, Rachel Rusnak, Dr. Maria Siemionow, Dr. Nicholas Smedira, Dr. Daniel Sullivan, Dr. Sharon Sutherlan, Dr. Katherine Teng, Dr. Geoff Vince, Darrell White, David Whiteley, Dr. Robert Wyllie, Dr. James Young, and Stephanie Zimmerman.