Former Patient Plays Concert at Children's

Twenty-eight years ago, surgeons at Children's Medical Center performed a delicate surgery to remove a sixth digit from each hand of a tiny, three-day-old baby boy. At the time, nobody knew Richmond Punch's hands would be so instrumental to his life's passion.

Richmond, who was born to a single mother in south Dallas, was an unlikely candidate to become a classical musician. But, with his mother's creative determination, and his own commitment to play the music he loved, Richmond earned music degrees at two prestigious east coast universities - Juliard and Yale.

Yesterday, Richmond played a live violin concert for patients and their families at Children's Medical Center, a small way to say thank you for the lifechanging care he received at the hospital so many years before.

In addition to entertaining the kids with classical renditions of songs like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the theme song from Pink Panther, he encouraged the children to aim high and to dream big and to never let anything get in the way of one's passion.

Today, Richmond plays viola and violin with the Richmond Punch Jazz Quartet and inspires the next generation of musicians through private lessons. In addition, he runs his own foundation to help introduce children to string instruments.

I wish we had gotten video of yesterday's performance at Children's. The kids enjoyed his music more than you can imagine. But, I'd be remiss to leave you without an opportunity to watch, and more importantly, listen to Richmond perform. This video from his You Tube channel chronicles a performance earlier this year at the Potter's House in Dallas.