From the desk of Dr. Gupta

I have been reporting about this virus since January and so much of it has been about the numbers. People want numbers. They want data. But, at some point, the numbers told us one thing: We would all know someone who had coronavirus before this was all over. 

The thing about a virus is, it doesn't discriminate based on what you do or who you are. And in this case, robbing the life of someone who has saved so many: my friend and fellow neurosurgeon, Dr. James Goodrich. 

Most will remember Dr. Goodrich as a recognized giant of neurosurgery, the most experienced neurosurgeon in the world when it came to the delicate and daunting separation of craniopagus twins -- those conjoined at the head. These separations, which involve months of planning and dozens of procedures are among the most challenging in any field of medicine. I know, because I was with him for 27 hours as he operated on Jadon and Anias McDonald and allowed CNN to document the remarkable event. Even as a neurosurgeon myself, I had never seen anything like it.

I first met Dr. Goodrich when I was a resident, and even back then he had a Santa Claus like beard and a constant twinkle in his eye. He had a sly grin and always looked like he knew the punchline of the joke before everyone else did. Along the way, we became close. He was a voracious reader and could speak endlessly about any topic I had on my mind. Given his stature as a preeminent pediatric brain surgeon, I loved watching people react when he told them he had dropped out of college at one point and became a surfer dude, as he described it. For most of us, he really was the most interesting man in the world.

Dr. Goodrich was an incredible human being, and the world is a little less bright today without him. While we knew the losses would come, they are no less painful when they do.