Full Circle: From Invention to Impact Through a Daughter’s Hands

Yesterday marked a full circle moment in my life, one that goes beyond professional satisfaction and into the deeply personal realm of fatherly pride.

Do you remember the game, Operation. So do I and so do my daughters. It was fun, challenging, and a bit instructive. I never thought it would be the beginnings of a successful career and a full circle moment for this proud father.

My daughter, Dr. Gillio, a general surgeon, recently starting to work as an attending in practice, performed three robotic surgeries in a single day. What made this so profound for me wasn’t just her skill or dedication.  It was that the machine and techniques she used were, in part, anticipated by me over 20 years ago. I hold six patents related to this technology. Unfortunately, unethical business dealings and strategic workarounds by others meant I saw little to no financial gain. Still, the core concepts including one of my inventions, for a robotic surgical training tool, became part of a major surgical robot system used worldwide today.

Despite the financial loss, I consider myself a wealthy man. Why? Because I got to witness my daughter being trained in medical school on a simulator I designed, and now she performs life-saving surgeries using robotic technology born from concepts I helped pioneer. Let me clear, I did not invent the entire system you see in hospitals today. Many others with engineering and innovation skills greater than mine created the system now in use, but my early concepts are definitely incorporated. Few fathers can say that their child’s hands that are skilled, precise, compassionate are an extension of their own creative contributions to the world.

Innovation is not always about money. It is about impact. It is about the lives made better, safer, and longer because someone dared to ask, “What if?” and followed it up with action. That satisfaction, reinforced by my daughter’s success, is priceless.

To young engineers, doctors, and inventors: You may never see the payday you dreamed of, but if your work makes the world better…if it helps one patient, or a thousand… you are rich in the most important way.

That, too, is being a Force for Health. Learn about something. Spot a problem. Design a solution. Share it…And let the world benefit.

#forceforhealth, # proudpapa, #girldad, #robotic-surgery