In loving memory of a dear colleague

Today I'm sharing with you a sad loss to me of a wonderful doctor I was fortunate enough to know for the past 10 years. Dr. Lee Pavlicek was an amazing anesthesiologist and an incredible guy. Every woman who has ever had an epidural for labor and delivery LOVES "the epidural guy". And we all loved him for more than that. We loved him for the incredible work he did and for the way he treated the nurses and his fellow colleagues with such dignity. We loved the way he'd cuss about having to come up after he just got back to sleep and then walk into the patient's room with a smile on his face. And left with a smile on hers. He did more than epidurals, he worked also in the OR for the main surgical cases. He was the guy whose lives were literally in his hands- and he did a phenomenal job. So many doctors get that "God complex", Dr. Pavlicek could have easily had that complex and gotten away with it but he treated everyone as his equal. To many patient's he was "God"- their lives at his mercy in the operating room. I'm sharing with you part of his obituary and you'll see how down to earth this top doc was. Please pray for his family, his friends and his children, and the staff at Edward Hospital. We've lost a truly amazing friend and colleague.

Dr. Lee Alan Pavlicek, 48, of Naperville, Ill., lost his courageous battle against brain cancer on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008. He passed away peacefully in the comfort of his own home surrounded by his family.Lee was born Sept. 20, 1960, to Bob and Mary Pavlicek in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He grew up near Ely, Iowa, where he baled hay, detasseled corn, and formed a lifelong passion for John Deere tractors. After graduating from Prairie High School, Cedar Rapids, in 1979 as valedictorian, he attended Central College in Pella and then the University of Iowa College of Medicine in Iowa City before becoming an anesthesiologist at Edward Hospital in Naperville. Lee loved the outdoors. Some of his favorite moments were spent riding his motorcycle and snowmobiling with friends, and forcing unsuspecting family members on off-road farm adventures in search of the ultimate tractor and vintage (and sometimes not-so vintage) road signs. Each family member can name the type, model, and year of every tractor — and we're pretty sure he'd be damn proud of that. He also enjoyed boating with his family and fine cigars, often at the same time.