Man Crush

For those of you unfamiliar with the term "man crush," let me explain. A man crush is when a perfectly straight man (the Crushee) develops such admiration, respect and esteem for another man (the Crush) that it borders on enfatuation. This new and exciting feeling may result from a number of admirable qualities of the Crush - athletic skills, professional achievement, personal charisma, or just plain awesomeness.

Like a teenage girl, unable to contain himself, the Crushee feels compelled to extol the virtues of the Crush to all he knows. The Crushee is often oblivious to his feelings, and only those that hang around him can identify that he is, indeed, suffering from a man crush. They know because, regardless of the topic of conversation, the Crushee finds a way to bring up the Crush and reiterate, over and over, why he finds him so compelling. Phrases that are indicative of a man crush include, "he's the man," "I love that guy," and "that guy is awesome," repeated over and over.

For example, my Dad had a man crush on Tiger Woods (pre sex scandal). My brother has a man crush on Mitt Romney. All men have a man crush on Chuck Norris.

I've always considered myself impervious to the man crush, namely because I'm the ultimate skeptic. No man is as good as he seems. Think Tiger Woods and Brett Favre. These fallen heroes were once the objects of many a man crush...lots of good men fell for them, but not me. Tim Tebow will be next.

Enter Dr. Michael Dorsen. He's the man!...and I'm smitten.

Dr. Dorsen is the lead neurosurgeon who's been operating on Keith's brain over the last couple of weeks, and let me just say...that guy is awesome. He's Australian and he definitely reinforces some of the Australian stereotypes. He's direct and to the point. He doesn't beat around the bush with bad news or good. He tells it like it is, without sugar coating and without a lot of emotion. While these are admirable qualities in and of themselves, they pale in comparison to his real talent - he has mad surgical skills.

Dr. Dorsen and his team have taken great care of Keith over the last couple of weeks and have managed to completely remove a tumor that Dr. Dorsen once characterized as "huge, ugly, malignant, and invasive." I know, he's a real charmer, but you gotta appreciate his candidness.

Dr. Dorsen was assisted by Dr. Wheby, a pediatric neurosurgeon here at Emanuel. I have a serious crush on Dr. Wheby as well. Not only is she a wicked-good brain surgeon, she's warm, affectionate, and talks with a southern drawl that soothes even the most troubled soul. The contrast between these two is evidenced in their post-surgical visits to Keith. When Dr. Wheby checks him out, she comes in, sits on his bed, rubs his back, gently lifts his head to look at the incisions and talks warmly to him and us about how good he looks. When Dr. Dorsen comes in, he bypasses Darcee and I, lifts Keith head, says "looks good," and then turns to leave. Put these two together and you have a serious Dream Team.

Those of you who know me, know that, with the exception of my wife and kids, I'm not the most affectionate guy. I'm a hand shaker, not a hugger. I don't know why, but I just don't like touching people and I don't like people touching me. Darc has asked me to accompany her on a couples massage some time, but that's never going to happen. She says it will be "relaxing." The thought of lying naked under a towel while some stranger puts their hands on me doesn't sound relaxing at all, in fact, it makes me queasy. Despite my phobia, I've had to physically restrain myself from hugging Dr. Dorsen over the last two days. Given the news that Dr. Dorsen has shared with us following the surgery and the MRI, my desire to embrace has been palpable, as evidenced by a recent conversation with Darc:

Darc: "Easy tiger."
Me: "What do you mean."
Darc: "I think this is the only time I've ever seen you want to hug a man more than he wants to hug you."
Me: "Is it that obvious?"
Darc: "Yeah...but I respect your restraint."

I've settled for handshakes on both occasions. To be fair, he's probably the one guy who's less affectionate than me. I've had to wrestle even a handshake out of him. But that's okay, I respect that.

What do you say to a guy who's saved your sons life? "Thank you?" That hardly seems sufficient. I mean, I say "thank you" to someone for putting a little extra meat on my burrito or for complimenting my recent self-done haircut. "Thank you" seems like a drastic understatement in this case. Regardless, the best I could do was to shake his hand and say "thank you."

Now that the surgery part of Keith's treatment is over, we won't be seeing much of Dr. Dorsen anymore. Keith will now be under the primary care of oncologists. Though I'm sure I'll meet many other impressive physicians throughout this journey, Dr. Dorsen will always hold a special place in my heart. He's the man and I love that guy. So, consider yourself warned, though we may be talking about football, dirt bikes, or something completely unrelated, I may find a way to bring up Dr. Dorsen and his awesomeness.

In all seriousness, we know, without a doubt, that the outcomes of Keith's surgeries are directly attributable to the blessing of a loving Father in Heaven. He has intervened on Keith's behalf to effectuate results that were simply unachievable when the doctors first looked at this tumor just 2 weeks ago. We know this is the case, and we are forever indebted to Him for the miracle that He has worked with Keith. He has answered our prayers and the prayers of so many family members and friends. Keith still has a long road ahead of him but we are so grateful for men and women like Dr. Dorsen and Dr. Wheby, whose dedication to their profession of healing allows the Lord to use their talents as a means to bring about His miracles.