- Dr. Robert Fowles, mentored by Dr. Russell M. Nelson, became the Nelsons' family doctor, before President Nelson became the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Fowles admired President Nelson's calmness in surgery, likening it to a scripted symphony.
- President Nelson's compassion was evident when his wife passed in 2005, Fowles recalled.
SALT LAKE CITY — Before his service as apostle and prophet for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson was a heart surgeon – one who changed the world with his work and research.
Dr. Robert Fowles studied under the then-Dr. Nelson, and then Fowles went on to become the Nelson family's doctor.
Fowles is a cardiologist who first knew President Nelson when he served as his stake president. Later, Fowles was offered a position at the LDS Hospital, where President Nelson worked.
"We sat down and we're talking about LDS Hospital, talking about cardiology and then all of a sudden, we start talking about how important the family is," Fowles said. "You can't separate the man from love for God, love for man."
That example is what Fowles and many others looked to.
"The thing that distinguished the operating room of Dr. Russell Nelson was calmness," he said. "During a big open-heart operation, it would proceed step by step, like a scripted symphony."
Fowles remembers President Nelson bringing that peace to one of his patients.
President Howard W. Hunter asked if a friend could join him for his heart surgery; that friend was President Nelson.
"All gowned, scrubbed and dressed appropriately as well," Fowles said. "At the end of the case, he leans over my shoulder, right into President Hunter's ear, and said, 'That was the best cardiac catheterization I've ever seen.'"
According to Fowles, of course, the procedure wasn't the best, but President Nelson was generous with his praise and with how he lifted those around him.
One night, Fowles was asked to be there for President Nelson.
When President Nelson's first wife, Dantzel White Nelson, died in 2005, she was Fowles' patient, and he was the first person Dr. Nelson called.
"I was right there, and part of him was grieving, part of him was rejoicing. Part of him was empty. Part of him was overflowing," Fowles said. "As we examined her, I embraced him, and we made more plans as to how to go forward."
And President Nelson did move forward, full of heart.
"A scientist, a reasoned, objective, practical man with a soft heart of gold, affectionate, cherishing family and family relationships, cherishing people, cherishing patients," he said.
