Dave Perkowski was a breaststroker who swam at Indiana University, but he knew from a young age he wanted to be a doctor. When Perkowski was 7-years-old, he was in a serious bicycle accident and lost a kidney. He was impressed at the surgeons who saved his life and made it his life’s calling. After the 1968 Olympics, Perkowski entered Indiana University Medical School. He also did his residency in cardiothoracic surgery at Indiana, finishing in 1979. He then moved to California where he joined Orange County Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons, and later became director of cardiac surgery at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center.
United States