Chicago Pediatrician Drowns Saving Kids

Doctors save lives every day, but one Chicago pediatric surgeon actually gave his own life to save two others. When Dr. Donald Liu saw two children drowning in Lake Michigan on Sunday morning, he ran in save them. The kids survived but the doctor was caught in the undertow and drowned.

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Liu was a pediatric surgeon at University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital and had recently turned 50. He was on vacation with his wife and his three children in Michigan when he drowned.

Jeffrey Matthews, a University of Chicago oncologist and colleague of Liu, told the Chicago Tribune: “We are so absolutely heartbroken by the loss of our friend and colleague. He died saving children, which is what he does every day.”

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Liu had been with Comer Children’s Hospital since 2001 and had recently received the hospital’s “distinguished clinician” award. He had been the hospital’s chief of pediatric surgery and surgeon-in-chief since 2007. Earlier this year, Chicago Magazine named Liu one of Chicago’s top doctors. Our thoughts are with his family and colleagues.