While Vanderbilt University fans took down the goalpost and paraded it downtown to the Cumberland River, Dan Surface euphorically celebrated the Commodores’ extraordinary win over Alabama in his living room, reaching a level of frenzy that freaked out Teddy, his Zuchon.
The next morning Surface awoke with a bloody eye, so he and his wife Aileen Katcher went straight to the emergency department at Vanderbilt University Hospital.
Two emergency medicine physicians, Tyler Barrett, MD, MSCI, and Stiles Harper, MD, a resident, and the on-call ophthalmology resident each went over a litany of questions. Surface was in no pain, and his vision was fine, but his right eye looked like he was ready to pick up a shift at a haunted house.
“Then they asked him if he had experienced anything in the last 24 hours that caused unusual excitement. We both looked at them and said, ‘Yes! He watched the Vandy-Alabama game the night before and got so excited our dog freaked out,’” recalled Katcher.
Suddenly the physicians homed in on the problem: Surface’s exuberance caused a sudden increase in pressure that ruptured small blood vessels in his eye. While most sports injuries happen on the field, Surface managed to score one in his own home.
“As a fellow Vanderbilt alum and former grad student cheerleading coach, I shared in his excitement that night,” said Barrett, professor of Emergency Medicine and the Associate Chief Medical Officer for Compliance. He received MD and MSCI from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Commodore black-and-gold is interwoven into Surface’s family and life. His father, James R. Surface, was a founding professor of Management at Owen Graduate School of Management and went on to be an executive vice chancellor and provost under Chancellor Alexander Heard. Dan Surface himself graduated from Vanderbilt about 50 years ago.
Once he got a clean bill of health the following day from his regular ophthalmologist, Surface proclaimed to his family and friends that this injury is the ultimate proof of his unwavering Commodore spirit.
“Given my ‘Dores’ monumental victory, spilling a little blood is the least I could do,” said Surface.
