Pediatric Surgeon Channels Elvis

Jan. 25, 2008— -- There's nothing like a good Elvis tune to put a smile on your face. But who knew that the King's music could also have healing power?

Just ask Dr. Alan Cohen, who has combined brain surgery with what he calls his true calling: impersonating Elvis.

His patients say that swapping his green operating scrubs for a blue jumpsuit can sometimes make all the difference.

Rocking Doc

"I'm a pediatric neurosurgeon. I've done that for a long time. But I've always felt that my true calling was the stage. The only problem is that I really have virtually no talent whatsoever," says Cohen, chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland.

A dedicated surgeon, Cohen already has his work cut out for him saving kids lives.

"For many years, leukemia was the No. 1 cause of cancer death in children, and now pediatric brain cancer has the dubious distinction of being the No. 1 cause of cancer death in children," he explains.

Elvis in the OR

"I like to play music when I operate, and we found that in some of the difficult cases, we would turn to Elvis as the King and it helped us through some difficult times," says Cohen.

As word spread that this popular doctor was a big fan of the King, people started sending him Elvis-themed presents.

For the past six years, on Jan.8, Presley's birthday, Cohen, security detail in tow, has taken his Elvis passion one step further. He's taken to the stage channeling his hero, the King.

"I want to let you know I do weddings and Bar Mitzvahs. And if people are interested, book early, because I do have a complicated OR schedule I've got to coordinate with," Cohen jokes.

Fan Base

This year the kids joining him were all former patients. On the day of Cohen's performance, though, they're all there to sing, dance and laugh with a man they have come to love.

Each of these children came to know Cohen in their darkest hour, hoping for a miracle, and have formed a deeply personal bond with "Big Al" as he's affectionately known.

"When I came here I was so scared, like I was probably gonna die and he was able to calm me down and realize I was gonna survive and I was gonna be able to live again," says Ema Anderson, a former patient.

Ema Anderson passed out in a swimming pool at a Girl Scout outing and was rushed to the hospital.

"They discovered that Ema had a tumor, and we met Big Al and he determined that surgery was necessary right away," explains Ema's father, Erik Anderson.

"He saved my life. Basically if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here right now," says Ema.

Matt Shisler was 7 years old when he started feeling nauseated and experiencing double vision.

"We ended up taking and MRI and they found it was a softball-size brain tumor," says Matt.

Cohen performed 11 hours of emergency surgery to remove Matt's tumor.

"It was life and death for hours … and I guess I never forget that, you know. It's always emotional for me because I have him, and I might not if things went the other way," says Matt's mom, Nora Shisler.

"He saved my life. If it wasn't for him they were saying it probably would have blown up in my head, and I would have been dead," says Matt.

Elvis the Angel

"You can imagine what it's like for a family to have a child diagnosed with a brain tumor. It turns everyone's life upside down. And we've been through some difficult times with these kids and these families. Today is a chance to kick back and have some fun, to get together and play," Cohen said about the big day.

The walls in his office are covered with pictures of children he has helped, lives he has saved and families he has touched. To many of them, Cohen is a guardian angel.

"I thank him every day for giving me my son back, for giving me a son. And I just have so much respect for him for what he does for all the children. He's a great guy. And I just love him, you know, we really do. We love him. He's a terrific human being," says Nora Shisler.

"He's our hero. He saved her [Ema's] life. He saved our lives. An amazing man," says Ema's father.