For Jacqueline Taege, the little things mattered most during her husband's recovery.

"I remember one day he was eating potato chips," she said. "And I said to him, 'Do you hear that crunching?'"

At the age of 45, Thomas Taege was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue and neck, and underwent radical surgery. With follow-up radiation and chemotherapy, his recovery was long and brutal, and he went for a full year without eating solid food. Crunching on potato chips was a major accomplishment.

Today, nearly 15 years later, Thomas Taege enjoys a quality of life that he credits to Robert Mathog, M.D., Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, the physician who performed his surgery and guided him to recovery. To show his appreciation, Taege supports otolaryngology research and development at WSU. "Dr. Mathog made decisions so that I could speak, eat and chew," he said. "He made a difference in my life, and I can't repay him."

Thomas Taege grew up on a farm in rural Nebraska, milking cows by hand. "When I left home, I was replaced by a milking machine," Taege said. As a young man, he took a job working for New Holland, an agricultural equipment and construction company, and demonstrated a natural sense for the business. The company cultivated him as a service technician and in wholesale and retail sales. He worked at locations all over the country, and his last position with New Holland was to take on company-owned stores that were struggling financially and get them back to profitability. "I moved seven times in 15 years," he said.

In 1984, he went to Sandusky, Mich., a town he liked so much he decided he never wanted to leave. So he worked out a deal with New Holland to purchase its Sandusky operation, and launched TNT Equipment Inc., a full-service dealer of farm and construction equipment. The company has been in business, serving the Thumb area of Michigan for 25 years, with Taege at the helm as chief executive officer and his son as president.

At the time of Taege's diagnosis, he had been successfully operating TNT Equipment for more than a decade. When he learned the news, he told his local ear, nose and throat doctor that he wanted "the very best there is" to perform the surgery. His physician directed Taege to his former teacher and mentor, Dr. Mathog. Dr. Mathog, who came to WSU in 1977, specializes in head and neck cancer, maxillofacial trauma and facial plastic surgery, and is board certified in facial, plastic and reconstructive surgery and otolaryngology.

Dr. Mathog confirmed the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma and offered a grim prognosis. Taege had a 10 percent chance of survival with radiation plus chemotherapy, and a 30 percent chance of survival with radiation, chemotherapy and surgery. Taege opted for the latter.

"When most people have surgery, they are scared when they go in," he said. "I was scared, but I wasn't nearly as scared because Dr. Mathog was so confident."

Taege's surgery included a radical dissection on one side of his neck and a modified radical neck dissection on the other, all in one 15-hour operation. At the time, it was the largest primary closure that Dr. Mathog had ever performed.

"When I left intensive care, they told me not to look in the mirror," Taege said. "I did a few days later, and it was bad." His wife, Jacque, said it seemed like they cut his head off and put it back on. He spent two weeks in the hospital and then went home for two weeks before starting chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Taege embarked on the long process of recovery. He spent five and a half years working with physical therapist Tomas Jelinek in Sandusky, who Taege described as a miracle worker. He had to learn to speak again, and he ate through a feeding tube, which may have helped advance his recovery.

"The best thing Dr. Mathog ever did was put that thing up my nose and hang it on my ear," he said. "I wanted to get rid of it." Seven months later a good friend offered to buy Taege a steak when he was ready. He accepted. "It took me about an hour to eat it, and we were both crying by the time I was finished."

For Taege, all of this is possible because of Dr. Mathog and staff. Taege said that Dr. Mathog's goal was to save him and preserve his quality of life. Now in his early 60s, Taege continues as CEO of TNT Equipment and assists his son in leading his company while enjoying time with his wife, children and grandchildren. When asked to describe his feelings for Dr. Mathog, Taege paused and said, "There are no words." But for Jacque the words are simple. She said, "He (Dr. Mathog) is my hero."

The Taeges support research in otolaryngology at WSU for two reasons: to give back and because there is more that can be done.

"I would imagine," Taege said, "that anyone who goes through Wayne State's facilities would want to give back."

Dr. Mathog appreciates the Taeges' generosity and said that philanthropy is an important part of every department within the WSU School of Medicine. Donors to the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery help advance its missions in patient care, education and research. The department has research laboratories in bio-otology, tinnitus and auditory prosthesis, stem cell research, and head and neck cancer. Dr. Mathog is an accomplished researcher himself, having written hundreds of papers and chapters, as well as four textbooks on trauma.

"I have been fortunate to be touched by professionals who give so much of their lives to others," Taege said. "This generosity has been embedded in my heart and has given me an emphatic drive to enhance that desire of giving. My own intent has been to protect my family and leave a legacy for my family and community, which consists of those who have touched my heart. I believe that there is a lot we can accomplish together to fix any problem."