I was a young surgeon recently out of training in the UK.  I heard Roger speak at a meeting in Europe and was mesmerized by the scope, complexity, and outcomes of his work at the RCH.  At the time, he was one of the few surgeons on the planet that could perform the arterial switch operation with consistently good results. His setup in Melbourne was years ahead of most of the top units in the USA and Europe, and anybody who visited Melbourne could see that immediately.  I jumped at the chance to work there in 1989, and my life changed forever.  I was not the only one. I recall a complicated nocturnal case involving a newborn.  A visitor asked Roger what he was doing exactly.  His response: "Can't you see that I'm trying to fix this kid?"  And, of course, he did. I’ve not encountered another surgeon who possessed Roger's peculiar combination of technical skill, persistence, and the ability to "think on his feet", as we surgeons say. He had a unique gift, which he used to the maximum. At times he could be difficult, but the more he abused his colleagues, the more they seemed to like him. I owe him a lot, and so does this specialty.