The Remarkable Story of Vivien Thomas, the Black Man Who Helped Invent Heart Surgery -...

There are stories of remarkable Black people in our history. For too long their stories were buried only to be recovered as shining jewels.Bass Reeves, the model for the Lone Ranger, Mary Fields described as “ the freest person to draw a breath or a 45”. One of my favorites is the story of Vivian Thomas and Alfred Blalock. Thomas, probably more than Blalock developed open heart surgery. What a team they were. Dr Helen Taussig a cardiologist discussed “ blue baby “ syndrome with Blalock and Thomas and ask if Blalock could come up with a solution. Blalock assigned the problem to Thomas. Vivian Thomas figured it out. There was no race issue if you wanted to learn to operate at John Hopkins Vivian Thomas was going to teach you. More so if you wanted to have Blalock as a mentor. Vivian Thomas’s solution to blue baby syndrom “ looked like something God would make”!