As I approach the end of my leg of this relay, this effort we’re all in to help people become a little healthier, as I’m reaching out to pass the baton to those who will carry on, I sometimes look up in disbelief at my good fortune, I look up with gratitude at my dumb good luck at who I’m passing this race on to.

This happened to me today as I was grinding through yet another annual evaluation. This morning it was Cleveland Piggott. Have you noticed Cleveland? He has no business already being as good a leader as he is. He could not have possibly accomplished all this long list of programs and initiatives and curricula and talks and papers that he has already accomplished.

He could not possibly be as calm and composed and nondefensive as he already is. Did you read what he wrote in KevinMD? Did you read the paper he coauthored in this month’s Annals of Family Medicine? This is a man for the future. Rooting out racism is more than just exceedingly difficult work—it is also painful, sometimes unwelcome, and never-ending, and yet here is Cleveland, bringing to us another dose of insight, challenge, vulnerability, and inspiration to help us along our way to becoming whole human beings. As if that weren’t enough, he’s a fully formed family doc, doing the work of a family doc in in the finest traditions of our calling (to borrow a phrase from Abraham Nussbaum). I’m overcome with gratitude and appreciation.

Thank you, Cleveland, for being born and finding your way to us. We are enriched. With you, our poor sick broken world is in good hands.

Frank Verloin deGruy III, MD, MSFM
Woodward-Chisholm Professor and Chair
Department of Family Medicine