A Very Pleasant Memory

I was given pause to remember a time in high school when we watched a film showing Dr. Michael DeBakey and Dr. Denton Cooley performing heart valve replacement surgery. Dr. DeBakey had developed the ball-and-cage replacement valve only a few years earlier, and it was making an enormous difference in the lives of patients who received one.

Not long after we saw the film, one of our friends received one of the artificial valves. She had been born a blue baby. By the time she was able to have the surgery, her natural heart valve was so weak that she walked very slowly and could only walk short distances before she had to sit down to rest. Her skin and lips were blue. When we saw her following recuperation, we barely recognized her. She had gained weight to healthy levels, her lips were pink, and her flesh was, well, flesh colored. She was able to go forward and live a normal, healthy life.

It's nice to recall times like this. The picture shows the DeBakey replacement heart valve.