This next person of a long line of geniuses was the person who came up with a solution to a problem that devastated many families and stunned even the best of doctors.
Vivien Thomas was born in New Iberia, Louisiana in 1910. Though he always strived to do his best, his best failed him miserably when all of his college tuition money disappeared in the October stock market crash. Despite, his short comings he continued to push for success, and landed a job working for Dr.Alfred Blalock a prestigious resident surgeon at Vanderbilt University. In hope of earning his medical degree Vivien worked day and night to prevail and conquer his dreams. While studying under Blalock, whom focused on traumatic shock and high blood pressure, Dr. Thomas invented a heavy spring device that could apply various levels of pressure. The invention created a new understating of shock and its connection with the loss of fluid and blood volume.
When his mentor, Dr. Blalock was promoted to be chief surgeon at John Hopkins's in 1941, Vivien was brought along to work on his team. But this time their focus would be set on heart surgery. When they were introduced to a heart defect that attacked newborns (blue baby syndrome: where oxygen doesn't circulate to the heart properly turning the babies blue) they rose together and produce a surgical procedure to save the lives of cherished gifts from God. Vivien was the key to the new discovery after having first tried the procedure himself on dogs.
Vivien Thomas went on to be one of John Hopkins's most cherished and honored surgeons, having taught many surgeons there after. So today we salute him for he is truly something the lord had made....
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