A commemoration of my mentor, Professor Thomas Patrick Joseph Hennessy

On the evening of April 14, 2018, I received an unexpected email from Mrs. Birgitta Hennessy, the wife of my mentor, Professor TPJ Hennessy. A tinge of uneasiness crossed my mind and my heart sank when I read the email: “Dear Huilee, it is with great sorrow that I am informing you that my dear husband, Tom Hennessy, died last Monday after a short illness (heart failure).” Sadness struck me hard for the remainder of the night. Scenes of my three years of studying in Dublin flashed back and forth before my eyes while the voice and smile of Prof. Hennessy lingered in my mind. I posted a short passage with a few commemorative photographs on WeChat Moment to express my condolences. Later that night, Mr. Daoyuan Wang, the CEO of AME Publishing Company, sent me a text asking me to write an article for their JTD journal in commemoration of Prof. Hennessy’s lasting contribution to thoracic surgery