And everyone knows about the time Skyler and Sullivan performed with their choir at Carnegie Hall and their dad saved a man who collapsed from a heart attack. 

Most recently, Skyler, Sullivan and their dad even got a chance to work together in a sense. While celebrating Sullivan’s wedding, the family was at a Nashville steakhouse when someone in the back of the restaurant collapsed and coded. The father, son and daughter ran to the back and started to work on saving the man, who had choked on steak. 

They cleared the man’s airway, felt for a pulse and started CPR. By the time EMS got there, the family team had gotten a pulse back.  

While Sully Smith may have been initially surprised that he did not scare his kids off from the medical field, where they all are now makes perfect sense. 

“I think they were proud of me, to be honest,” Sully Smith said. “You know, it was a sacrifice for them to be gone as much as I was. But on the other hand, I think they were proud of it, and I think that maybe they set their compass from a very young age.” 

All the kids still feel pride in their dad and emphasize the lasting impact he has had on the medical world and community. In Cookeville, Sully Smith worked in the Cookeville Regional Medical Center team for more than 30 years in a service area of 300,000 people. He retired in 2018, leaving behind a legacy that “changed the face of the ER,” Torey said. Beyond his own community, Sully Smith also serves on the ACEP Tennessee Chapter Board of Directors, served as Chapter President in 2018 to 2019 and is the chairman of the state EMS board. 

Every day, Torey said he tries to emulate his dad, who he says is “one of the best doctors I have ever seen in my life.” 

It appears despite Sully Smith’s efforts and expectations, the medical world called to each family member in its own way. Maybe, as Skyler put it, “it runs in our blood.”