Dr. David LaVelle (‘75) knew three pieces of advice – “fund your IRA to the max every year, exercise at least 20 minutes three times a week and change the oil in your car every 3,000 miles” – would always serve UT Martin graduates well.
But the UTMartin alumnus and Memphis surgeon also offered several “life stories” when he addressed a record number of graduates as spring commencement speaker.
As a young surgeon, LaVelle and two colleagues were not content with the state-of-the-art in orthopaedic surgery. Their diligence as residents changed the way fractures are treated to this day, after being criticized because “some of our ideas were a radical departure from the ‘old way’ of treatment.” He added, “We went around the world teaching others how to do this surgery, and I remember being told by a professor of surgery in Italy that I was too young to have the experience and know-how that I had presented at our meeting. Lesson No. 1 – “You are never too young to make a difference.”
As a youth and teenager, all LaVelle ever wanted to do was be a doctor. (His father is a retired ear, nose and throat doctor.) LaVelle noted he did not make good grades – a fact that, obviously, could have stunted his further academic growth. When a relative suggested to the elder LaVelle that he might be setting up his son for a major disappointment with his sights on medical school, “My dad told her . . . ‘David can do anything he sets his mind to do.’” Lesson No. 2 – “Do not allow yourself to come up short on your dreams just because you didn’t want to work hard enough to reach them.”
Two years ago, LaVelle was vacationing with his family and, when exercising with his son, felt a tightening in his chest. After a second episode, it was determined he had a serious blockage in his main coronary artery. Following cardiac catheterization, he began to rethink his lifestyle. At 53 years of age he was not in “terrible shape,” but his weight and cholesterol needed attention. Subsequently, he became a cyclist, has completed seven “centuries” (100-mile bicycle rides) and just returned from a “3-State, 3-Mountain” challenge. Lesson No. 3 – “You are never too old to change. Never quit. Never give up. Give life all you’ve got.”
LaVelle added, “You all have had something special to celebrate here today. I know that the education you’ve received here has prepared you to successfully meet the challenges you have ahead . . .”
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