by Jim Murphy
98 “It took quite some time . . . lobby”: Thomas, 221.
Following Blalock’s death, Vivien Thomas sank into a depression for several years, during which he did very little research work. Eventually he resumed his research and remained the supervisor of the surgical laboratory at Johns Hopkins until 1985, for a total of thirty-five years. After receiving his honorary doctorate, he was named an instructor of surgery at the school, an extraordinarily rare appointment for someone who was neither a surgeon nor a doctor. He died of pancreatic cancer in 1985.
By this time, everyone at Johns Hopkins knew about Thomas’s genius for research and his remarkable surgical skills; many other surgeons in the United States also knew about him. The world learned about him posthumously in August 1989, when Katie McCabe published her National Magazine Award–winning article, “Like Something the Lord Made,” in Washingtonian magazine. Over the years, additional honors came Thomas’s way: the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation set up the Vivien Thomas Scholarship for Medical Science and Research; the Journal of Surgical Case Reports named its annual award for best-written case report for Thomas; and the Baltimore City Public School System opened the Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy, a high school with a focus on the health professions, mathematics, and sciences.
Both Vivien Thomas and Alfred Blalock prided themselves on the medical students they trained and sent out into the world. Many of these individuals became world famous and innovative surgeons, with more than twenty of them heading up cardiac departments in hospitals throughout the United States. Thomas was especially proud of welcoming and mentoring a succession of African American students, one of whom was his nephew Koco Eaton.
99 “As for me . . . to be me”: Thomas, 219–20.
Bibliography
Baldwin, Joyce. To Heal the Heart of a Child: Helen Taussig, M.D. New York: Walker and Company, 1992.
Beeson, Paul B., and Walsh McDermott. Textbook of Medicine. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company, 1967.
Blalock, Alfred, and Helen B. Taussig. “The Surgical Treatment of Malformations of the Heart in Which There Is Pulmonary Stenosis or Atresia.” Journal of the American Medical Association 128 (1945): 189–202.
Comroe, Julius H. Exploring the Heart: Discoveries in Heart Disease and High Blood Pressure. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1983.
Gilbert, Lynn, and Gaylan Moore. Particular Passions: Talks with Women Who Have Shaped Our Times. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1981.
Harvey, W. Proctor. “A Conversation with Helen Taussig.” Medical Times 106, no. 11 (1978): 28–44.
McNamara, Dan G., ed. “Helen Brooke Taussig: 1898 to 1986.” Journal of the American College of Cardiology 10, no. 3 (1987): 662–66.
Partners of the Heart. PBS documentary, transcript. www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/partners/filmmore/pt.html.
Ravitch, M. M. The Papers of Alfred Blalock. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1966.
Schwertly-McNamara, Cathy. Memoirs of a Blue Baby. Bloomington, Ind.: Xlibras, 2010.
Shumacker, Harris B. The Evolution of Cardiac Surgery. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992.
Stoney, William S. Pioneers of Cardiac Surgery. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2008.
Taussig, Helen B. Congenital Malformations of the Heart. New York: Commonwealth Fund, 1947.
Thomas, Vivien T. Partners of the Heart. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985.
Walsh, Mart Roth. Doctors Wanted: No Women Need Apply: Sexual Barriers in the Medical Profession, 1835–1975. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1977.
Weisse, Allen B. Heart to Heart: The Twentieth Century Battle Against Cardiac Disease. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2002.
Wilkerson, Isabel. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration. New York: Random House, 2010.
Picture Credits
Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions: 5, 6, 18, 31, 34 (bottom), 36, 39, 46, 52, 56, 69, 72-73, 77, 79, 84, 85, 88, 90, 93, 94, 96, 97, 99
Author’s collection: 83
Bettmann/Corbis: 67, 80
Duke University Medical Archives: 17, 23, 62, 87
Estate of Yosef Karsh: 12, 82
Hulton Archive/Getty Images: 43
Leon Schlossberg drawing/JAMA: 49
Library of Congress: 4, 21
Morton Tadder/Baltimore: 33
National Library of Medicine: 34 (top), 64
New Contributed Photographs Collection, Otis Historical Archives, National Museum of Health and Medicine: 24
Oklahoma Historical Society: 9
Texas Heart Institute, www.texasheart.org: 59
With permission of the Thomas family: 2
Index
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I |J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q |R | S | T | U |V | W | X | Y | Z
Page numbers in bold refer to photos and illustrations.
A
anesthesia, xii, 22, 60–61, 63, 67, 67, 68, 113
animal rights, 42, 43, 45
animals, experimental
Anna (dog), 88, 88
at Johns Hopkins, 1, 22, 42, 45, 46, 110–11
overview, 42–44, 45, 110
in tetralogy of Fallot research, 47–54, 58, 69–70
antibacterials, 74, 75, 91–92
B
Baltimore, MD, 1–4, 4
Begg, Dr. Alexander, 32
birth defects
heart, 29, 33–34, 41 (See also tetralogy of Fallot)
from thalidomide, 84
Blalock, Dr. Alfred, 12, 17, 79, 80
background, 10–11, 56–57
confidence issues, xii–xiii, 55, 58, 59, 64, 66–67
death, 119
description, 13
education, 56–57
first meeting with Taussig, 37, 39–40, 117–18
notoriety, 76–80, 77, 82, 82–83, 116, 118–19
other blue baby surgeries, 76, 81, 82, 82–83, 86
personality, 10, 78, 80
portrait, 96
relationship with Taussig, 38, 85–86, 109
relationship with Thomas, xiii, 10–11, 14–15, 55, 58, 70–71, 86–92
reputation, 16, 36, 57, 80–81, 82, 113
Saxon’s surgery, xi–xiii, 63, 66–74, 72–73
Saxon’s treatment, 58–60, 62, 64–65
shock research, 16–17, 24, 25–26, 40, 81
as a teacher, 17, 18, 120
tetralogy of Fallot research, 40–41, 45–54, 55, 86
at Vanderbilt, 17, 23, 53, 57
See also Hunterian Laboratory
blood
oxygenation, 27, 34, 40, 47–50, 53, 72–73, 114–15
whole blood or plasma, 24, 25
blue baby syndrome. See tetralogy of Fallot
C
Children’s Cardiac Clinic, xii, 29, 32, 37–38, 39, 64, 84
clamp, Blalock, 51, 52, 112
Cooley, Dr. Denton A., 38, 55, 59, 60, 64, 70, 95
D
Davis, Jefferson, 10
ductus arteriosus, patent, 34–35
E
Eaton, Koco, 120
F
Fallot, Étienne-Louis Arthur, 34, 34, 108
G
Great Depression, 21, 22, 106
Gross, Dr. Robert E., 34, 34, 35, 39, 44, 118
H
Haller, Dr. J. Alex, Jr., 55–56, 56, 80
Harmel, Dr. Merel, 62–63, 68, 71, 114–15
Harrison, Tinsley, 56–57
heart, dog, 48–50, 69–70
heart, human
anatomy, 27, 49
congenital disease, 29, 33–34, 41 (See also tetralogy of Fallot)
development, 27–29, 28, 34
modern inventions to treat, 44, 45, 75–76, 81, 115
in pathology museum, 29, 41, 45
heart surgery
on an infant, 49, 50, 69
artificial heart, 61, 81, 95
heart transplant, 61, 95
&nb
sp; history of, 61–62, 115
open-heart, 44
on Saxon, xi–xiii, 63, 66–74, 72–73
tools and supplies, 45, 48–51, 52, 63, 68–69, 69, 81–83, 112–13
Heimbecker, Dr. Raymond A., 94
Hunterian Laboratory
“Dog House,” 1, 5
experimental animals, 1, 42, 45, 110–11
housekeeper issues, 13–14
poor condition of, 1, 4–7, 6
surgery class, 93
hypertension, 35, 40, 53
J
Johns Hopkins Hospital
notoriety, 76–77, 77, 81, 82–83
Saxson’s surgery, xi–xiii, 63, 66–74, 72–73
surgical house staff, 79
veterinary clinic, 111
Watkins at, 93, 94
See also Children’s Cardiac Clinic
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Blalock’s responsibilities, 8, 14, 57–58, 62, 62, 63, 92
notoriety, 81
rejection of Blalock, 57
salary issues, 106
Taussig as student, 32
See also Hunterian Laboratory
Johnson, Lyndon B., 84–85, 85
Johnson & Johnson, 51, 83
L
Lamont, Dr. Austin, xii, 60–61, 62, 113
Lillehei, Dr. C. Walton, 43–44
Longmire, Dr. William, 64
and Saxon, xi–xiii, 60, 64, 71, 72, 73
surgical tool development, 51, 112
lungs, 49–50
M
media attention, 76–78, 77, 116
Mitchell, Charlotte, 60
needles, suturing, 51, 63
Nelson, Dr. Russell, 96–97
O
oxygen
blood oxygenation, 27, 34, 40, 47–50, 53, 72–73, 114–15
supply to the fetus, 28
tent to administer, 58
used during surgery, 63
Paget, Dr. Stephen, 61
post-operative care, 75–76, 115
Poth, Dr. Edgar, 7–8, 11, 13–14
prejudice. See racial discrimination; sex discrimination
Puryear, Clara Belle, 67
R
racial discrimination
Jim Crow laws, 3–4, 4, 10, 14
against Thomas, xiii, 3–4, 7, 10–15, 91–93, 98, 106
violence in the South, 8–9, 9
S
Saxon, Eileen
background, 116
condition, 58, 63, 65, 76, 114–15
death, 116
notoriety, 76–78, 77
post-surgery, 75–76
surgery, xi–xiii, 63, 66–74, 72–73
treatment, 58–60, 62–65
Schatz, Albert, 91–92
scientific creativity, 53
scientific credit, 91–92
sex discrimination, 31, 108
Sherwood, Elizabeth, 63
shock, 16–17, 24, 25–26, 40, 42, 119
Stensen, Niels, 108
sterile environment, 115
T
Taussig, Dr. Helen, 36, 80
background, 29–30
description, 29
education, 30–32
first meeting with Blalock, 37, 39–40, 117–18
head of Children’s Cardiac Clinic, xii, 29, 32, 37–38, 84
heart defects research, 29, 35, 40, 41, 83–84, 87, 117–18
notoriety, 78–79, 83–86, 85
portraits, 84, 117
relationship with Blalock, 38, 51, 85–86, 109
and Saxon, 58–60, 63–64, 71, 72
treatment style, 32–33, 33, 37–38, 39, 41
Taussig, Frank William (father), 29–30, 31
tetralogy of Fallot (blue baby syndrome)
first description, 108
incidence rate, 108
medical lectures on, 78–80
mortality rate, 34
overview, 33–34
research by Thomas and Blalock, 40–42, 45–54, 55, 58, 86
surgeries, 76, 77, 81–83, 82, 86, 87 (See also Saxon, Eileen)
and Taussig, 35, 40–41, 117–18
thalidomide, 84
Thomas, Clara (wife), 2
Thomas, Mary (mother), 19
Thomas, Vivien, 90, 100
background, 19–22, 89, 98
and Blalock’s death, 119
description, 5, 10, 98
education and degrees, 21–22, 94, 99
family, 2
first meeting with Taussig, 37, 39–40
notoriety, 94–99, 119–20
other blue baby surgeries, 76, 81, 82–83, 86, 87
personality, 19, 86, 98, 110
portrait, 95–98, 97
and Poth, 7–8, 11–12
racial discrimination against, xiii, 3–4, 7, 10–15, 91–93, 98, 106
relationship with Blalock, xiii, 10–11, 14–15, 55, 58, 70–71, 76, 86–92
research assist. at Johns Hopkins, 1–2, 4–8, 10–15, 25, 40–42, 45–56, 46, 68, 86–92, 106
research assist. at Vanderbilt, 10, 17–19, 22–25, 23, 53
and Saxon, xiii, 60, 63, 66–71
surgical skills, 46, 50–51, 89–90, 93, 94–95, 119
surgical tool development, 51, 52, 63, 81–82, 112
as a teacher, 93, 95, 120
work ethic, 19, 20, 98
Thomas, William (father), 19
tuberculosis, 30, 57, 91–92
V
Vanderbilt University, 6, 10, 16–19, 22–25, 23, 53, 57, 92
W
Watkins, Dr. Levi, Jr., 91–93, 94
Waxman, Dr. Selman, 92
White, Shaun, 108
World War II, 1, 24, 25, 67
Wyeth, Jamie, 84, 117
About the Author
JIM MURPHY has written numerous nonfiction books for young readers. His book An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 received a Newbery Honor and the Sibert Medal and was a National Book Award finalist. His most recent book for Clarion, cowritten with his wife, Alison Blank, was Invincible Microbe: Tuberculosis and the Never-Ending Search for a Cure, of which Kirkus Reviews said in a starred review, “Who knew the biography of a germ could be so fascinating?”
Jim lives in New Jersey with his family.
Learn more at jimmurphybooks.com
