Daniel P. Walters, 10, died October 29 at Riley Hospital. As a ceremonial opening of Colts quarterback Andrew Luck's new partnership with the hospital, Walters' doctors encouraged Luck to perform the youth's kidney transplant surgery. When Luck cut Walters' ureter with a large novelty scalpel before the assembled press and dignitaries, the boy went into cardiac arrest from which Luck was unable to revive him. A shaken Luck said later, "I thought I was just going to be talking about getting kids to exercise and eat right. I'm not a surgeon! I kept trying to tell them I didn't want to do this, but they just said no, do it, it'll be cool." James Walters, Daniel's father, reflected, "I'm just glad Andrew is better on the field than he is in the operating room. He's a rookie, you've got to expect some mistakes." Pausing, the elder Walters added, "But I bet Peyton [Manning] could have got my boy his new kidney."
More Obituaries | Go To The Front Page