Retiring pediatric pulmonologist describes work as "an awesome responsibility"

After 37 years, Dr. Michael Tsangaris, pediatric pulmonologist, is taking off his Riley white coat for the last time. He is proud of not only his contributions to children but of the patients' parents too.

"It is a privilege to be able to do this work," Tsangaris said. "As I'm seeing these patients for the last time, it's sad. It's hard for me as well as the parent. And so, the moms are thankful, but several of them have expressed to me how scared they were when we first met, and now they feel confident. It has totally flipped. They're not scared anymore when their kid gets sick. They know exactly what to do. I'm real proud of that, I really am."

Jordyn Moses, a mother whose son is a longtime patient of Tsangaris, echoed those sentiments. She brought her son, Sage, to Dr. Tsangaris when he was a toddler and now he's a lively young boy.

"There's nothing like a good doctor," Moses said. "Good doctor is an understatement. He is a godsend. He's a blessing."

Dr. Tsangaris said the responsibility is not lost on him.

"You have parents come to you and they sort of hand you their most prized possession: their kid," Tsangaris said. "They don't know you from Adam and now they hand you their kids and trust you to fix it. That's an awesome responsibility."

Tsangaris said two things top his list of what he will miss most: his team and listening to stories.

"What we do is we listen to stories all day long," Tsangaris explained. "Every kid that comes in here has got a story; every parent that comes in here has got a story. The visual I describe to parents is that every kid that comes in here is a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle. The parent, and it's usually the mom, is the only person on the planet that has the pieces of the puzzle. She doesn't have the picture; she's got the pieces and all of the pieces are up in her head. My job is to get the pictures."

Moses said she will certainly miss seeing Dr. Tsangaris, but she said the impact he has made on her family will live on.

"Life is just a little bit sweeter because we crossed paths with him," Moses said. "We love you, Dr. Tsangaris! We just wish him the best."