1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,279 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,239 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy B. Wilson and I'm Holly Frying. Today we 4 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: have the second episode in our not exactly a two 5 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 1: parter about the development of a surgical treatment for blue 6 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: babies that as children who have cionodic heart conditions, particularly 7 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: to Trilogy of Felow. The earlier episode was on Dr 8 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: Helen Tausig, and these two episodes are really pretty much 9 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: stand alone. But Dr Tausig's name is going to come 10 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: up a lot in this one and the like anatomical 11 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: detail about what te Trilogy of Felow is we talked 12 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:51,199 Speaker 1: about earlier. Um, I think you can understand the surgery 13 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: without knowing all that detail. If you're like, but I didn't. 14 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: I didn't listen to that one yet, It'll be okay. 15 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: Today though, we're going to talk about surgery. Cool technician 16 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,759 Speaker 1: Vivian Thomas. Thomas was the one who really worked out 17 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 1: how to do this surgery, and when Dr Alfred Blaylock 18 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:11,919 Speaker 1: performed it for the first time, Thomas was standing behind 19 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: him walking him through it. Blaylock was the surgeon in 20 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: chief at Johns Hopkins at this point, and Thomas's presence 21 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:23,559 Speaker 1: and the operating room was baffling or maybe even offensive 22 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: to other observers. This was in nineteen forty four, and 23 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: Thomas was a black man working at an institution whose 24 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 1: only other black employees did janitorial work. He also had 25 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: not ever attended medical school or even college. Also, Thomas's 26 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,480 Speaker 1: work that we're talking about today involved research on animals, 27 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 1: and we're not going to have a ton of detail 28 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: about that, but it isn't there. Vivian Theodore Thomas was 29 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: born on August in Lake Providence, Louisiana. A lot of 30 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: sources list his place of birth as New Iberia, and 31 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: it is not entirely clear what is behind that discrepancy. 32 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: The two cities are well over two hundred miles apart, 33 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:08,240 Speaker 1: and Thomas's autobiography says New Providence. His autobiography also says 34 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: that he liked to joke that his parents named him 35 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 1: Vivian because they thought they were going to have a girl. 36 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: They had already had a daughter followed by two sons, 37 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: and thought another daughter was on the way. Vivian's father, William, 38 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: was a carpenter and his mother, Mary was a seamstress. Yeah, 39 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:24,959 Speaker 1: I don't. I don't know if he was named after 40 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: anyone in particular, but that was a story he liked 41 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,360 Speaker 1: to tell. Uh. I'm not sure what his his parents 42 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: thought of that story. When Vivian was to the family 43 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and as he got a little older, 44 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: Vivian started helping his father with the carpentry business. In 45 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: Vivian graduated with honors from Pearl High School, which was 46 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 1: the only high school in the area that admitted black 47 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,080 Speaker 1: students and which also had just an excellent reputation. He 48 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 1: dreamed of going to medical school, and in addition to 49 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: his carpentry work for his father, he had taken a 50 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:01,119 Speaker 1: job as an orderly to try to earn enough money 51 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: for it. Vivian also spent his summers doing maintenance work 52 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: at Fisk University. Later in life, he described a formative 53 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: experience he had at this job. After he replaced some 54 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: worn out flooring, his foreman told him that his work 55 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: was unacceptable. The foreman could still see where the repair 56 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 1: had been made. Vivian did it over, and later his 57 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: foreman pointed out that he could have just done it 58 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,920 Speaker 1: right the first time. Vivian really took this to heart 59 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 1: and the fall of n Vivian, Thomas enrolled in the 60 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: pre med program at Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial College, which 61 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: is now Tennessee State University, the historically black Land Grant University. 62 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: He hoped to go from there to Maharry Medical College 63 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: following the nineteen ten release of the Flexner Report, which 64 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: we talked about on the show earlier this year. This 65 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: was one of only two remaining medical schools that accepted 66 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: black students. But the Great Depression made Thomas's medical school 67 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: aspirations in possible. The bank where he had deposited his 68 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 1: savings closed and he lost it all. Carpentry work dried 69 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: up as well, and he started working a collection of 70 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: odd jobs just to try to make ends meet. In 71 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: early nineteen thirty, Thomas asked his friend Charles man Love, 72 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: who worked at Vanderbilt University, whether he knew of any 73 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: job openings there, and man Love answered that he did 74 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: know about a job assisting in a laboratory, but that 75 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: the doctor running that lab, dr Alfred Blaylock, was, in 76 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,599 Speaker 1: his words, hell to work with. So for just a 77 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:36,279 Speaker 1: little on Blaylock, he had been born in Georgia in 78 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: eight He attended Georgia Military Academy and served in the 79 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: army during World War One before going on to the 80 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 1: University of Georgia. From there, he studied medicine at Johns 81 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: Hopkins University. Blaylock was not a particularly great student, not bad, 82 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: but also not exceptional. Consequently, he lost the general surgery 83 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: residency that he wanted because his grades just weren't good enough, 84 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: so Blaylock started a residency in neurology instead. After a while, 85 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 1: he did manage to move back over to general surgery, 86 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: but he had some kind of dispute with the other 87 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: surgical residents and ultimately resigned. He wound up finishing his 88 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:19,600 Speaker 1: surgical residency at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, which is the 89 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: place he described as a backwater. After he finished that residency, 90 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: Blaylock continued to work at Vanderbilt. In addition to his 91 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: work as a surgeon, he was researching the nature of shock. 92 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: At the time, the prevailing theory was that shock brought 93 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: on by trauma to the body was caused by toxins, 94 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: and doctors did not really know how to treat it. So, 95 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 1: after finding out about Vivian Thomas's background, including that he 96 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: wanted to go to medical school, Blaylock hired him. Blaylock's 97 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: research needed really careful monitoring, so he wanted somebody who 98 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 1: could set up and monitor experiments in the lab while 99 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:58,480 Speaker 1: Blaylock was treating patients in the hospital. Blaylock described it 100 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 1: to Thomas as wanting someone he could train to do 101 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:04,679 Speaker 1: anything that he could do, and maybe some things he couldn't. 102 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:09,719 Speaker 1: Thomas started this new job on February. The pay was 103 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,839 Speaker 1: twelve dollars a week. The previous summer, he had earned 104 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: twenty dollars a week as a carpenter, so at first 105 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:19,160 Speaker 1: Thomas was a little reluctant. At the same time, he 106 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,359 Speaker 1: imagined that this was temporary. The carpentry jobs were going 107 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: to come back with warmer weather in the spring, so 108 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: he saw this is just something to carry him over. 109 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: In the meantime, most of Blaylock's research was being conducted 110 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:35,160 Speaker 1: on dogs, and Thomas started out weighing them, taking measurements, 111 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: anesthetizing them, preparing them for surgical procedures, monitoring them, and 112 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 1: keeping records. But it quickly became clear that his abilities 113 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 1: went beyond all that. He started learning to make incisions 114 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: into suture, and Dr Joseph Beard, who was one of 115 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 1: Blaylock's research fellows, tutored Thomas an anatomy, physiology, and chemistry. 116 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: A couple of months into Thomas's work with Blaylock, he 117 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:01,520 Speaker 1: made some kind of error. By the time he wrote 118 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: his autobiography many years later to describe this, he no 119 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,840 Speaker 1: longer remembered the details of exactly what he had done wrong, 120 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: but when Blaylock discovered it, he was living shouting and 121 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: swearing and what Thomas described as almost a temper tantrum 122 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: full of foul language. After Blaylock left the room, Thomas 123 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 1: asked one of the lab assistants how often that happened. 124 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:26,560 Speaker 1: The answer was any time Blaylock had previously had a 125 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 1: bad night, meaning that he had drunk to excess. So 126 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: Thomas went into Blaylock's office and told him that while 127 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 1: he was doing his best, that he might make mistakes sometimes, 128 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:39,560 Speaker 1: and that he could not work for Blaylock if he 129 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 1: was going to be spoken to that way every time 130 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: it happened. Thomas went on to say that he had 131 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 1: not been raised to use or to take that kind 132 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: of language. Although the other assistants expressed some doubts that 133 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: Blaylock's behavior would ever improve. Thomas said that he never 134 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,880 Speaker 1: faced this kind of an outburst from Blaylock. Again, just 135 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: in case you're thinking, hey, wasn't this during prohibition, Yep, 136 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 1: the answer was yes. Blaylock had an illicit keg of 137 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:10,320 Speaker 1: whiskey hidden in the lab, and eventually his and Thomas's 138 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: relationship progressed to sometimes having a drink together, but they 139 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:17,559 Speaker 1: only socialized this way within the confines of the lab, 140 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: always out of public view. By nineteen thirty three, Thomas 141 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: had reached the point that he would prepare a dog 142 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: for surgery and open and clothes, while Blaylock only did 143 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: the actual surgical procedure that they were developing. And then 144 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,320 Speaker 1: this progressed to Thomas doing the surgical procedures himself from 145 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: beginning to end. That started one day when Blaylock had 146 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:38,800 Speaker 1: asked for an animal to be prepared for surgery, but 147 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: then he didn't arrive in the lab as expected. Thomas's 148 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: work went way beyond what other technicians in the lab 149 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: were typically doing. Blaylock would have an idea, Thomas would 150 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:52,079 Speaker 1: work out and document how to do it before teaching 151 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: it to Blaylock and Blaylock relied on Thomas's work extensively. 152 00:08:56,559 --> 00:08:59,600 Speaker 1: He published papers that were based on techniques that Thomas 153 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 1: had develop, lipt and perfected, and he used data that 154 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:06,320 Speaker 1: Thomas had gathered. When drafting papers, Blaylock would call on 155 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 1: Thomas to check his wording to make sure that what 156 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:11,960 Speaker 1: he was describing was accurate, since Thomas was the one 157 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 1: who had the most thorough knowledge. In nineteen thirty three, 158 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:20,640 Speaker 1: Blaylock delivered a groundbreaking lecture on the nature of traumatic 159 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: shock based on their work together. He connected shock to 160 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: blood and fluid loss and described it as treatable with 161 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 1: blood transfusions or plasma, or if neither of those was available, 162 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: with sailing. That same year, Vivian Thomas married Clara Flanders. 163 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: They would go on to have two daughters, Olga Fay 164 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:42,679 Speaker 1: born in nineteen thirty four and Theodosia, born in When 165 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: the girls were still young, the family moved, and we're 166 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 1: going to get into that after a sponsor break. The 167 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: research that Alfred Blaylock, Vivian Thomas, and others in the 168 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,280 Speaker 1: research lab at Vanderbilt Wrede doing in the nineteen thirties 169 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: and into nineteen forty led to life saving treatment for 170 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: wounded soldiers during World War Two, but Thomas's contributions were 171 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,160 Speaker 1: really not acknowledged at the time. His pay was also 172 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,080 Speaker 1: low enough that he had some moonlight as a bartender 173 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: to make ends meet. It's included at parties hosted by 174 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:23,200 Speaker 1: Dr Blaylock, where Thomas sometimes had to serve drinks to 175 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: his colleagues from the lab. Over the years, the possibility 176 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:30,160 Speaker 1: of going to medical school faded away. Even after the 177 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 1: end of the Great Depression. There just wasn't enough money 178 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,480 Speaker 1: to save for school while also supporting a family. Even 179 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:39,200 Speaker 1: though Thomas was doing the work of a senior research fellow, 180 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:43,360 Speaker 1: he was being paid and classified as a janitor. When 181 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: Thomas realized this and asked for a raise, he was 182 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 1: given one, but he wasn't sure if he was moved 183 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: into a technicians position or if he was just being 184 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:54,199 Speaker 1: paid more and was still being listed as a janitor. 185 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,800 Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty seven, Blaylock was offered a job as 186 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 1: chief of surgery at Henry Ford hosp Biddle in Detroit, 187 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 1: and this would have been a huge step up for 188 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:06,640 Speaker 1: his career, But when Blaylock asked about bringing Thomas with 189 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: him as his assistant, the hospital made it clear that 190 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 1: it did not hire black people. Blaylock turned down the job, 191 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: not because of any kind of sense of fairness, but 192 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 1: because he knew that Thomas was critical to his work. 193 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:23,720 Speaker 1: In y eight, Blaylock and Thomas started researching pulmonary hypertension. 194 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: Their experiment involved rerouting the blood flow around the pulmonary 195 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:31,000 Speaker 1: artery and back into the lungs. It did not work 196 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:33,480 Speaker 1: as they had hoped, but that will come up again 197 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:38,319 Speaker 1: later in the episode. In one, Blaylock was offered another job, 198 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:41,960 Speaker 1: this time at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, again as 199 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: surgeon in chief. Once again, Blaylock asked about bringing Thomas 200 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 1: with him as his assistant. Johns Hopkins only black employees 201 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:52,839 Speaker 1: at the time, we're working in janitorial roles, but they 202 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:56,959 Speaker 1: ultimately agreed, but Thomas wasn't sure that he wanted to go. Uh. 203 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 1: It meant relocating his whole family from Nashville to Baltimore, 204 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: the city that he had never been to and where 205 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:05,600 Speaker 1: they didn't know anybody. But it also seemed unlikely that 206 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:08,200 Speaker 1: he could find a job related to medicine without his 207 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: connection to Blaylock, and with World War two looming, Thomas 208 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:14,960 Speaker 1: thought the job might offer him some protection if he 209 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:19,120 Speaker 1: were drafted, he might wind up in a medical unit. Ultimately, 210 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: Thomas did decide to go with Blaylock, and this move 211 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 1: turned out to be a lot harder than expected. Blaylock 212 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 1: had negotiated their salaries without a clear sense of how 213 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 1: much more expensive Baltimore was than Nashville. It's affected both 214 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 1: of them, obviously, but it affected Thomas, who was making 215 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:39,680 Speaker 1: a lot less money a lot more profoundly, and it 216 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:43,360 Speaker 1: turned out that Thomas's pay just was not enough to 217 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:47,080 Speaker 1: support his family. The two cities were also quite different 218 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,680 Speaker 1: for their black residents. In Nashville, the Thomas's had lived 219 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: in a thriving black neighborhood with black owned businesses and 220 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:57,920 Speaker 1: a robust middle class, But most of Baltimore's black residents 221 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: were living in overcrowded tenements and many were living in poverty. 222 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:04,880 Speaker 1: Thomas described many of the apartments he saw while looking 223 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:07,559 Speaker 1: for a place to live in the only neighborhoods where 224 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:10,360 Speaker 1: he would be allowed to live as barely fit for 225 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:15,839 Speaker 1: human habitation. JOHNS. Hopkins refused to increase Thomas's pay from 226 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:20,839 Speaker 1: what had originally been negotiated, so Blaylock convinced neurosurgeon Walter 227 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,839 Speaker 1: Dandy to make a gift to the medical school earmarked 228 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 1: for Thomas's salary. That made Thomas's living situation more comfortable 229 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,680 Speaker 1: in terms of finances, but he was still having to 230 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:34,760 Speaker 1: face segregation and racism at work every day. Johns Hopkins 231 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:37,679 Speaker 1: treated black patients, but they entered the facility through a 232 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: separate door. Some departments had segregated wards and others saw 233 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:44,120 Speaker 1: black and white patients on different days of the week. 234 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:48,800 Speaker 1: Blood banks and morgues were also segregated by race. Also. 235 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: I mean, as I mentioned earlier, the only other black 236 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:54,040 Speaker 1: employees there were doing things like janitorial work, and so 237 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:57,800 Speaker 1: after being openly stared at while walking through the building 238 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 1: wearing his white lab coat, Thomas decided just not to 239 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:04,280 Speaker 1: wear it outside of the lab again. The lab was 240 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:07,959 Speaker 1: the old Hunterian laboratory, and it was also in disrepair. 241 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:12,200 Speaker 1: Thomas had to repaint, make repairs, and order new equipment 242 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:16,120 Speaker 1: before it was really workable. Once they were settled in Blaylock, 243 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: and Thomas began working on finding ways to treat narrowed 244 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:22,720 Speaker 1: A orders in babies and children, including developing techniques to 245 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:28,800 Speaker 1: suiture blood vessels together in pediatric cardiologist Dr Helen Tausig 246 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:33,040 Speaker 1: approached Dr Blaylock about trying to find a surgical treatment 247 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,680 Speaker 1: for cyanotic heart disease or heart conditions that cause the 248 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:39,400 Speaker 1: skin in the mucus membranes to look blue because of 249 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 1: a lack of oxygen. This is also known as blue 250 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:46,080 Speaker 1: baby syndrome. In particular, she was interested in a treatment 251 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:48,760 Speaker 1: for tetrology of follow and as we talked about in 252 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: more detail on the episode on Tausig, this is a 253 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 1: collection of four congenital malformations that causes blood to circulate 254 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 1: through the body without carrying enough oxygen and with out treatment, 255 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: about half of children born with tetrology of flow die 256 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 1: before their third birthday, and the vast majority don't live 257 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 1: to adulthood. There's a bit of debate about who came 258 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 1: up with which piece of the idea for a surgical 259 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 1: treatment for this condition. Various versions credit Blaylock, Tausig, and 260 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:21,000 Speaker 1: Dr Edwards Park, who was chief of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins, 261 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 1: with specific details including which specific blood vessels to focus on, 262 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:29,480 Speaker 1: but it's generally agreed that Tausig suggested that Blaylock look 263 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 1: for a surgical treatment for the tetrology of flow and 264 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: that Thomas was the one who worked out the process, 265 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:41,520 Speaker 1: and I worked out the process. Blaylock and Thomas's attempts 266 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:46,240 Speaker 1: at inducing pulmonary hypertension provided a starting point. So first 267 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: Thomas worked out how to surgically replicate a condition similar 268 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 1: to tetrology of flow and dogs, and then he worked 269 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:57,800 Speaker 1: out how to connect the subclavian and pulmonary arteries, basically 270 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 1: allowing more blood to travel back him too the lungs 271 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 1: to pick up more oxygen. It took Thomas two years 272 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:07,800 Speaker 1: of work and hundreds of surgeries to perfect this process, 273 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,520 Speaker 1: starting on dogs and then moving on to human cadavers. 274 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:15,320 Speaker 1: Because there were no suturing needles small enough to work 275 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 1: on the blood vessels of babies and small children, Thomas 276 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:22,480 Speaker 1: had to manually file them down from larger needles. He 277 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:25,960 Speaker 1: also had to improvise suturing silk, as no silk had 278 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,400 Speaker 1: been developed that was made specifically for working on blood vessels. 279 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 1: In addition to all of that, there were worries about 280 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 1: whether children who were sick enough to need this surgery 281 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: could actually survive being anesthetized for it. Thomas felt pretty 282 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 1: confident in the process that he had worked out by 283 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:45,840 Speaker 1: late nineteen and we will talk about the first time 284 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 1: Blaylock performed it on a human patient after a sponsor break. 285 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: Eileen Saxon was born August three, nineteen forty three, seven 286 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,399 Speaker 1: weeks before her mother was due to give birth, and 287 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:08,200 Speaker 1: she had tetrology of fellow by the age of fifteen months. 288 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: Her prognosis was grave. She weighed only nine pounds, and 289 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 1: she had spent several months living in an oxygen tent. 290 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,560 Speaker 1: So because this was a brand new surgery that had 291 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:22,160 Speaker 1: never been done on a living person, it was inherently 292 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,439 Speaker 1: incredibly risky. So the surgical team was looking for a 293 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:29,200 Speaker 1: patient who simply could not survive without it. Eileen fit 294 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 1: that description. Blaylock and Tausig wanted to avoid pressuring Eileen's 295 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:36,479 Speaker 1: parents one way or another, but they also wanted them 296 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:39,720 Speaker 1: to be able to make an informed decision, so Blaylock 297 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 1: and Tausig carefully explained what was involved in what the 298 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:47,160 Speaker 1: risks were, including showing Eileen's parents before and after diagrams. 299 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:51,560 Speaker 1: Eileen's parents ultimately agreed to the surgery, which was conducted 300 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:57,119 Speaker 1: on November twenty nine. Dr Blaylock was the surgeon and 301 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: doctor Helen Tausig was also in the operating room. Standing 302 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,920 Speaker 1: behind Blaylock in just to his left was Vivian Thomas, 303 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: who walked Blaylock through the surgery step by step. Thomas 304 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 1: had not planned to attend the surgery at all, but 305 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:16,160 Speaker 1: Blaylock wound up sending for him. Blaylock had never actually 306 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:19,199 Speaker 1: done this procedure himself, he had seen Thomas do it. 307 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,479 Speaker 1: He had assisted Thomas on one surgery on a dog. 308 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,400 Speaker 1: There just had not been time for Blaylock to practice 309 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:29,600 Speaker 1: beyond that because Eileen's condition took a turn for the worst. 310 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:34,040 Speaker 1: Eileen survived this surgery, although the first published paper about 311 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:38,840 Speaker 1: it describes her post operative course as quote stormy. She 312 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:41,399 Speaker 1: was able to go home about two months later, although 313 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,200 Speaker 1: she died during a follow up surgery later on. In 314 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,919 Speaker 1: By that point, Blaylock had operated on two more human patients, 315 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:52,960 Speaker 1: on eleven year old girl on February three and a 316 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,360 Speaker 1: six and a half year old boy on February ten. 317 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,720 Speaker 1: They chose older patients because Eileen's blood vessels had just 318 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 1: been so so tiny they were less than half the 319 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 1: size of the dog's vessels that Thomas had developed this 320 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:10,679 Speaker 1: procedure on both these procedures were successful, though, and in 321 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:15,560 Speaker 1: the February tenth surgery, the patient's coloring dramatically shifted from 322 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:18,399 Speaker 1: blue to pink while he was still on the operating table, 323 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,840 Speaker 1: even though they had only done this surgery three times. 324 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 1: By May of nineteen forty five, Blaylock and Tausig were 325 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:28,159 Speaker 1: confident enough in the results that they published a paper 326 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:34,160 Speaker 1: in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, 327 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:37,320 Speaker 1: and people who were part of patients post operative care 328 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 1: were mentioned in this article, but Vivian Thomas was not. 329 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:46,280 Speaker 1: By ninety six, medical professionals were calling this the Blaylock 330 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:50,920 Speaker 1: Tausig operation, or sometimes just the Blaylock operation. Within a decade, 331 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:54,879 Speaker 1: it was the standard treatment for tetrology of fellow, and 332 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:58,919 Speaker 1: it's possible that the success with the surgery saved Blaylock's career. 333 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:02,960 Speaker 1: He had a tempted several complicated surgeries, and the months 334 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:04,919 Speaker 1: leading up to all this, several of them had not 335 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,480 Speaker 1: gone very well, and his reliance on a black surgical 336 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 1: technician had also raised some eyebrows. Basically before this, people 337 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:16,160 Speaker 1: had started to question his abilities, both as a surgeon 338 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:19,439 Speaker 1: and as the chief of surgery. But afterwards started to 339 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 1: spread about the success of the Blaylock Tausig operation, new 340 00:20:23,119 --> 00:20:27,399 Speaker 1: patients flooded Johns Hopkins so many that a portion of 341 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:30,280 Speaker 1: the children's surgical ward had to be designated the tet 342 00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:34,560 Speaker 1: room for patients with tetrology of Felow and other cyonotic conditions. 343 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: Vivian Thomas was present in the operating room for the 344 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:42,160 Speaker 1: first one hundred of these surgeries that Blaylock performed, advising 345 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,760 Speaker 1: him and correcting all kinds of details, like how big 346 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:48,680 Speaker 1: the sutures were, how far apart they were, and whether 347 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:52,399 Speaker 1: they were in the right direction. If anyone tried to 348 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:55,280 Speaker 1: stand behind and to the left of Blaylock, he would 349 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 1: tell them that only Vivian was to stand in that spot. 350 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:01,840 Speaker 1: Over the course of six years, Blaylock performed this surgery 351 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:06,200 Speaker 1: one thousand times on children with several different syonotic heart conditions, 352 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,160 Speaker 1: about seventy five percent of them with tetrology of flow. So, 353 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:13,720 Speaker 1: as we noted earlier, John's Hopkins did treat black patients, 354 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 1: but there were some racial disparities among the children that 355 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:20,679 Speaker 1: Blaylock treated for cyanotic heart conditions. Only a few of 356 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:24,760 Speaker 1: those first thousand patients were black. In nineteen seventy seven 357 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:28,919 Speaker 1: paper reporting the long term outcomes of these surgeries, Tausig 358 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:32,639 Speaker 1: attributed this to a collection of factors that affected black patients. 359 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:35,840 Speaker 1: The first was that cionosis was harder to see in 360 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:39,399 Speaker 1: patients who had darker skin. She also noted that doctors 361 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 1: who were treating black patients might be less experienced, and 362 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,520 Speaker 1: that families involved might not have the means to pay 363 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,040 Speaker 1: for the operation or be aware of sources of funding 364 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: that were available that might help them pay for it. 365 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:56,919 Speaker 1: In Thomas became lab supervisor. It had become something of 366 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:59,679 Speaker 1: a tradition to use the lab as a veterinary clinic 367 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 1: on Friday afternoons, and after a while, Thomas became the 368 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,200 Speaker 1: go to veterinary surgeon for Johns Hopkins faculty and staff. 369 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,000 Speaker 1: The first dog to survive the blue baby procedure, a 370 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 1: dog named Anna, also became something of a laboratory pet 371 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,160 Speaker 1: under Thomas's care and a public relations face for the hospital, 372 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:22,399 Speaker 1: which fased ongoing vocal criticism from anti vivisectionists for this work. 373 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 1: In Thomas seriously considered leaving Johns Hopkins and moving back 374 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: to Nashville. Demand for carpenters had really surged during the 375 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,480 Speaker 1: construction boom that followed World War Two, Thomas had the 376 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:41,159 Speaker 1: opportunity for far more lucrative work. Just before Christmas of 377 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:43,880 Speaker 1: that year, Blaylock presented him with an offer that would 378 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:48,359 Speaker 1: more than double his salary. After Thomas had already accepted it, 379 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:50,679 Speaker 1: Blaylock told him that was going to be the last 380 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:54,360 Speaker 1: conversation they would ever be having about his pay. Thomas 381 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,080 Speaker 1: said he would not have accepted that offer had he 382 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:01,720 Speaker 1: known about that condition. I think it's fair, that's absolutely fair. 383 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: It kind of infuriates me. They went back and forth 384 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: about it, with Blaylock going back to the Johns Hopkins 385 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:09,680 Speaker 1: Board of Trustees, and in the end, a new salary 386 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:13,800 Speaker 1: bracket was created for people like Vivian Thomas, people who 387 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:17,960 Speaker 1: were in highly skilled, critically necessary positions but who didn't 388 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:22,600 Speaker 1: have degrees. Thomas was placed in this bracket, meaning that 389 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,240 Speaker 1: he wasn't at a dead end in terms of his salary. Yeah, 390 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:29,000 Speaker 1: before this point, I mean, in addition to you know, 391 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,320 Speaker 1: moonlighting is a bartender that we talked about earlier, there 392 00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:33,640 Speaker 1: was a time when he was also trying to moonlight 393 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 1: as like a pharmaceutical sales trip, and with this they 394 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 1: were like, Okay, you cannot do this pharmaceutical sales thing anymore. 395 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,880 Speaker 1: That's almost the whole separate thing. So Thomas and Blaylock 396 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:49,280 Speaker 1: continued to work together for decades later. Thomas developed a 397 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 1: procedure called atrial septech. To me, this involves making a 398 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:56,679 Speaker 1: small hole in the wall between the hearts left and 399 00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:00,520 Speaker 1: right atria, and that can help treat pulmonary hypertes and 400 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:04,800 Speaker 1: some congenital heart diseases, including when a person's blood vessels 401 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:09,399 Speaker 1: around their hearts are transposed. This procedure is something that 402 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:12,640 Speaker 1: Thomas had worked on discreetly. He kept it a secret 403 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:15,960 Speaker 1: and showed Blaylock his success only after he was sure 404 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,320 Speaker 1: that it had worked. This was the procedure that Blaylock 405 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:24,119 Speaker 1: described as looking quote like something the Lord made. That 406 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:26,560 Speaker 1: became the title of a nineteen nine article in The 407 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,520 Speaker 1: Washington i In that was many people's first exposure to 408 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:32,439 Speaker 1: Vivian Thomas, as well as the title of the HBO 409 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:37,200 Speaker 1: film that dramatizes this relationship. In nineteen fifty one, Thomas 410 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:39,920 Speaker 1: was credited in a published paper for the first time 411 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:44,200 Speaker 1: after a visiting fellow from Canada included him among the authors, 412 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:48,840 Speaker 1: not realizing all the social and racial implications involved. Other 413 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:51,719 Speaker 1: doctors included Thomas in the years that followed, although he 414 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:56,240 Speaker 1: was never credited on Blaylock's publications. In nineteen fifty nine, 415 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:59,159 Speaker 1: Blaylock turned sixty and Thomas was not invited to the 416 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 1: faculty party his honor. Some of the organizers sneaked him 417 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,200 Speaker 1: in and he watched from behind the plants, which is 418 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: something that he later described as humiliating. Blaylock retired from 419 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:13,919 Speaker 1: Johns Hopkins five years later, and as he was mumbling 420 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 1: over how to spend his time after his retirement, Thomas 421 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,879 Speaker 1: said not to include him in those plans. For most 422 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,760 Speaker 1: of their thirty four years working together, Blaylock had just 423 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:26,560 Speaker 1: assumed that they were a package when entertaining other job 424 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:30,000 Speaker 1: and research offers, thinking that if he left Johns Hopkins, 425 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:33,680 Speaker 1: Thomas would obviously go to but Thomas wanted to make 426 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:38,040 Speaker 1: his own way. Blaylock died on September fifteenth, nineteen sixty four, 427 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:41,040 Speaker 1: just a few months after he retired. Towards the end 428 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:43,639 Speaker 1: of his life, he expressed some regret over having not 429 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:47,359 Speaker 1: ever sent Thomas to medical school. Blaylock's obituary in the 430 00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:51,280 Speaker 1: New York Times described the surgery performed on Eileen Saxon. Quote. 431 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:55,280 Speaker 1: Hospital officials recalled that Dr. Blaylock made a long incision 432 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:58,720 Speaker 1: and exposed the beating heart of a fifteen month old girl. 433 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:02,359 Speaker 1: Then for three hours he worked at an operation no 434 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:07,160 Speaker 1: one had ever done before. The obituary also mentioned Tausig's involvement, 435 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:11,199 Speaker 1: but not that Thomas was standing behind Blaylock and walking 436 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:14,800 Speaker 1: him through it. Vivian Thomas continued to have a career 437 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:19,359 Speaker 1: at Johns Hopkins after Blaylock's retirement as lab supervisor. He 438 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:23,440 Speaker 1: had been training surgeons and technicians for years, including training 439 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:26,879 Speaker 1: twenty black surgical technicians, two of whom later went on 440 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:30,800 Speaker 1: to medical school. The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine integrated 441 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:34,080 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty three, and Thomas had also become a 442 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:37,960 Speaker 1: mentor for the university's first black medical students and residents. 443 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:41,440 Speaker 1: In the years that followed, attitudes about race were shifting 444 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:45,520 Speaker 1: in the United States in general and at Johns Hopkins specifically, 445 00:26:46,119 --> 00:26:48,880 Speaker 1: and in the late nineteen sixties, surgeons and technicians who 446 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:52,000 Speaker 1: had trained with Vivian Thomas started to advocate for him 447 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:55,639 Speaker 1: to be recognized for his contributions. A group of former 448 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:58,840 Speaker 1: surgical Fellows, nicknamed the Old Hands Club, took the lead 449 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:02,200 Speaker 1: on commissioning and pay for a portrait of Vivian Thomas 450 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,000 Speaker 1: to be hung across from Blaylock's portrait in the lobby 451 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:08,960 Speaker 1: of the Blaylock Building at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. The 452 00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:12,560 Speaker 1: portrait was unveiled at a meeting of the Johns Hopkins 453 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:17,720 Speaker 1: Medical and Surgical Society in nine after a series of speeches. 454 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:20,880 Speaker 1: Thomas spoke as well. He said that when he had 455 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,359 Speaker 1: learned about the plans for this portrait, quote, my emotions 456 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,520 Speaker 1: were quite mixed, and they still are. People in our 457 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:31,080 Speaker 1: category are not accustomed to being in the limelight. Most 458 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:34,240 Speaker 1: of you are. If our names get into print, it's 459 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:37,320 Speaker 1: usually in the very fine print, down at the bottom somewhere. 460 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:40,919 Speaker 1: But being placed in the position I find myself now 461 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:44,040 Speaker 1: makes me feel quite humbled, but at the self same 462 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:47,720 Speaker 1: time just a little proud. At no time, during all 463 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:50,000 Speaker 1: the years that I have been here at Hopkins, have 464 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:52,639 Speaker 1: I had any idea that I would ever do anything 465 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:55,520 Speaker 1: that would make a mark upon this institution, or make 466 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:58,200 Speaker 1: any contribution to the field of medicine that would merit 467 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:03,040 Speaker 1: such recognition as I am getting here today. Press coverage 468 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,520 Speaker 1: about the unveiling of this portrait is how many of 469 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:10,160 Speaker 1: Thomas's friends and neighbors learned for the first time just 470 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,680 Speaker 1: what kind of work he had been doing at Johns Hopkins. 471 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:18,200 Speaker 1: He wrote in his autobiography about getting this this call 472 00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:20,640 Speaker 1: from a friend, like the morning the newspaper came out, 473 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:22,680 Speaker 1: asking all these questions, and he was like, I'm still 474 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:25,040 Speaker 1: in bed. I don't I don't know what you're talking about. 475 00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 1: Further recognition of Thomas's achievements and contributions followed from there. 476 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy six, he was named Instructor of Surgery 477 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:39,480 Speaker 1: at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, meaning that he 478 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:42,440 Speaker 1: was for the first time formally part of the faculty. 479 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:45,880 Speaker 1: He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university that 480 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:49,440 Speaker 1: same year. This followed an effort from University of Maryland 481 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:52,280 Speaker 1: College Park to do the same, which fell through after 482 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:54,680 Speaker 1: the Board of regents voted not to approve it, even 483 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:57,200 Speaker 1: though Thomas had already been informed that it was in 484 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:01,520 Speaker 1: the works. Yeah, that seemed very embarrassing for the University 485 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:05,560 Speaker 1: of Maryland College Park. Also for reasons that aren't entirely 486 00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:08,240 Speaker 1: clear to me. The honorary doctor he got is a 487 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:12,080 Speaker 1: doctorate of laws and not a doctor of medicine um. 488 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 1: And I was not able to track down why that was. 489 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:18,520 Speaker 1: That there were vague references to there being some restrictions, 490 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:21,400 Speaker 1: and I was like, what restrictions do you mean. Toward 491 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:24,600 Speaker 1: the end of his time at Johns Hopkins, Thomas worked 492 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:27,720 Speaker 1: with Dr Levi Watkins, Jr. He was the first black 493 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:31,640 Speaker 1: medical student to graduate from Vanderbilt University and the first 494 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:36,720 Speaker 1: black cardiac surgery resident at Johns Hopkins. Thomas helped Watkins 495 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:42,320 Speaker 1: develop and troubleshoot the process for implanting an automatic cardiac defibrillator, 496 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:45,720 Speaker 1: that is, a surgery that Watkins performed for the first 497 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,280 Speaker 1: time ever in nineteen eighty. Thomas had retired just a 498 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:51,800 Speaker 1: year before that happened, and at the request of many 499 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:55,320 Speaker 1: of his colleagues, he had started writing an autobiography. The 500 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:59,560 Speaker 1: autobiography was printed as Pioneering Research in Surgical Shock and 501 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:04,040 Speaker 1: cardio Vascular Surgery, Vivian Thomas and his work with Alfred Blaylock. 502 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:07,920 Speaker 1: Copies printed more recently are titled Partners of the Heart, 503 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,440 Speaker 1: which is also the title of a movie from PBS 504 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:14,840 Speaker 1: American Experience that debuted in two thousand four. The HBO 505 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:17,400 Speaker 1: movie called Something The Lord main stars most Deaf as 506 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,960 Speaker 1: Vivian Thomas, Allen Rickman is Alfred Blaylock, and Mary Stuart 507 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,400 Speaker 1: Masterson is Helen Tausig, and it also came out in 508 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:27,880 Speaker 1: two thousand four. Vivian Thomas died of pancreatic cancer on November. 509 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:33,720 Speaker 1: The work that he did with Alfred Blaylock really set 510 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: the stage for the field of cardiac surgery. It was 511 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:41,000 Speaker 1: a field that really flourished from there. Blaylock and Thomas 512 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:43,760 Speaker 1: and the rest of the surgical team demonstrated that it 513 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:46,600 Speaker 1: was possible to operate on a heart and that patients 514 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: who were sick enough to require cardiac surgery could survive 515 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:53,080 Speaker 1: the anesthesia and the physical trauma that were required to 516 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:56,959 Speaker 1: carry it out. When Alfred Blaylock, Helen Tausick, and Robert 517 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:01,440 Speaker 1: Gross were granted the Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award 518 00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:05,520 Speaker 1: in ninety four, they were described as launching quote a 519 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:11,640 Speaker 1: worldwide surge of effective investigation and corrective surgery into all 520 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:16,960 Speaker 1: phases of cardiovascular dynamics. This absolutely would not have been 521 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:21,800 Speaker 1: possible without Vivian Thomas surgical procedures that Thomas developed are 522 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:25,800 Speaker 1: still performed today, although the Blaylock Thomas Tausig shunt, as 523 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:28,959 Speaker 1: it is increasingly known, is often a temporary first step 524 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:31,840 Speaker 1: to help a patient survive until they can have other 525 00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:36,520 Speaker 1: procedures to address a heart malformation more directly. Today, it 526 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,160 Speaker 1: typically involves a synthetic shunt rather than one of the 527 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:43,160 Speaker 1: patient's own blood vessels. So one point of conjecture that 528 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:46,440 Speaker 1: often comes up as what Thomas might have achieved if 529 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:49,440 Speaker 1: he had been able to attend medical school, the idea 530 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:51,440 Speaker 1: being that if he was so brilliant with a high 531 00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:54,760 Speaker 1: school education, that he might have been truly astounding if 532 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,200 Speaker 1: he had been able to earn an m d. But 533 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:01,560 Speaker 1: really that's a little complicated. Thomas's connection to Blaylock gave 534 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:05,000 Speaker 1: him access to white medical institutions which he would not 535 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:07,760 Speaker 1: have had if he had gone to medical school and 536 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:10,800 Speaker 1: started a career of his own. And the words of 537 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:14,320 Speaker 1: Dr Roweena Spencer, who worked with Thomas on the development 538 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:18,560 Speaker 1: of the atrial septectomy and was the only woman ever 539 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:22,120 Speaker 1: to serve as a surgical intern for Alfred Blaylock quote, 540 00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:24,160 Speaker 1: the truth of the matter is that is a black 541 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:27,240 Speaker 1: physician in that era, he would probably have had to 542 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:30,080 Speaker 1: spend all his time and energy making a living among 543 00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:34,120 Speaker 1: an economically deprived black population. And we'll end with a 544 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,600 Speaker 1: brief and frequently repeated an illustrative story from the late 545 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:41,320 Speaker 1: Dr j Alex Haller. Early in his career, Hallard was 546 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:44,640 Speaker 1: working at the National Institutes of Health with Alfred Casper 547 00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:47,680 Speaker 1: as a technician. One day, while working in the lab, 548 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:50,880 Speaker 1: Howard ran into trouble with bleeding during a procedure, but 549 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:54,640 Speaker 1: solved the problem. Casper complimented Hallar on how he had 550 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:58,840 Speaker 1: handled himself, and Hallard said, well, I trained with Dr Blaylock. Later, 551 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:02,600 Speaker 1: during another procedure that went even further awry, Hallard found 552 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:04,680 Speaker 1: himself totally at a loss for what to do, and 553 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:08,280 Speaker 1: Casper stepped in and fixed the situation. When Haller thanked 554 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:12,760 Speaker 1: and complimented Casper, he said, I trained with Vivian Tracy. 555 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:14,800 Speaker 1: Do you have a little listener mail to wrap this 556 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:19,120 Speaker 1: one up? I do. It's also related to medicine and 557 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:22,320 Speaker 1: previous episodes that we have done on the theme of 558 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:27,400 Speaker 1: saving lots of babies. Uh, and it is from Shauna. 559 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:29,960 Speaker 1: Shawna says, Hello, Holly and Tracy. I've been listening to 560 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:32,440 Speaker 1: the podcast for years, and I've always wanted to be 561 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:34,600 Speaker 1: a part of your listener emails, but had never had 562 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:38,000 Speaker 1: anything interesting to impart. And then when I felt like 563 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:41,200 Speaker 1: I did, I never actually got around to writing that email. 564 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,120 Speaker 1: I even put it on my to do list, maybe 565 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:48,280 Speaker 1: even last year, where it's been lingering until now. This 566 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:51,360 Speaker 1: year has been a year of fate, especially surrounding my 567 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:54,280 Speaker 1: wedding last weekend that we booked in August as a 568 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,040 Speaker 1: purposeful COVID wedding. It was a pop up wedding, which 569 00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:59,760 Speaker 1: was perfect for me as a bride who wanted nothing 570 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:01,800 Speaker 1: to do with the planning part of a wedding, and 571 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:05,360 Speaker 1: it was amazing anyway, not the purpose of this email. 572 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:09,799 Speaker 1: It was your podcast recently where Tracy mentioned procrastination, to 573 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:12,840 Speaker 1: which I reminded myself about emailing. And then at the 574 00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:15,520 Speaker 1: end of the bram Stoker episode you talked about the 575 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:19,080 Speaker 1: episode Deja Vu, which is what I originally was going 576 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:23,640 Speaker 1: to email you about. See fate. So now I feel 577 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:26,359 Speaker 1: compelled to actually push aside the procrastination and get down 578 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:28,839 Speaker 1: to business. This goes back to the episode about Dr 579 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:32,520 Speaker 1: Cooney and the premature babies. I started listening to saw 580 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:35,000 Speaker 1: Bones as a recommendation from you guys, and they did 581 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:38,520 Speaker 1: an episode about Dr Cooney and I was like, yes, Stephew, 582 00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:42,280 Speaker 1: miss in History did this topic already. The Inventor Doctor, 583 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:46,040 Speaker 1: the Premature Babies, Invented Incubator showed it as some kind 584 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:48,520 Speaker 1: of world fair, brought it to America. It was like 585 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:51,319 Speaker 1: a beach side attraction or something. I totally remember this. 586 00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:55,960 Speaker 1: And then shortly thereafter, you guys released an episode on 587 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:58,120 Speaker 1: Dr Cooney and mentioned that it was on saw Bones, 588 00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:02,240 Speaker 1: and I said, are utterly confused, because in my mind 589 00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:05,319 Speaker 1: you had already done that topic. That's how I knew 590 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:07,840 Speaker 1: about it. I tried searching the archives and found nothing. 591 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:11,319 Speaker 1: So Ever since I've had this itching thought of how 592 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:14,759 Speaker 1: did I know all about Dr Cooney before both podcasted 593 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:18,160 Speaker 1: episodes on it. Maybe I'll never knew, but it's the 594 00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:25,200 Speaker 1: weirdest thing, and I understand episode deja vu. Um. So 595 00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:28,640 Speaker 1: Seana went on to write a little bit about the 596 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:32,320 Speaker 1: home economics episode that we did previously, and of course 597 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:36,480 Speaker 1: that was offered in Ontario called Managing Personal and Family Resources, 598 00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:41,040 Speaker 1: which included all kinds of basic life stuff including what 599 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,399 Speaker 1: the symbols on your clothes mean for washing? Um, I'm 600 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:45,760 Speaker 1: not going to read the whole rest of the email 601 00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:47,799 Speaker 1: because it is relatively long, but I just want to 602 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,600 Speaker 1: say I hate those washing symbols. I know the point 603 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:53,520 Speaker 1: was to try to standardize laundering instruction on labels, but 604 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:55,720 Speaker 1: I don't know what any of the main And every 605 00:35:55,719 --> 00:35:58,680 Speaker 1: time I'm looking at a new piece, like a new 606 00:35:58,719 --> 00:36:00,840 Speaker 1: garment that I'm washing for the first time, if it 607 00:36:00,920 --> 00:36:03,600 Speaker 1: only has those symbols and it doesn't have words, I'm 608 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:07,880 Speaker 1: like having to google laundry symbols to be able to 609 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:11,279 Speaker 1: do my laundry. So anyway, Shanna, thank you so much 610 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:14,960 Speaker 1: for this email. I became very curious to be like, 611 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:20,320 Speaker 1: how did Shanna learn about the babyside shows that that 612 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:25,240 Speaker 1: that you know seemed to already be Shawna's mind before 613 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:30,759 Speaker 1: having um got into our episode. Um, there was a 614 00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:35,000 Speaker 1: couple of years before uh we or saw Oons did 615 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:38,680 Speaker 1: the episode. Um, there was an episode of story Corps 616 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:41,520 Speaker 1: which would have been played during Morning Edition on NPR 617 00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:44,400 Speaker 1: if you are a Morning Edition listener or just a 618 00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:49,879 Speaker 1: story Corps listener. UM, and that predated our episode and 619 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:54,719 Speaker 1: the saw Bones episode in the ninety invisible episode, all 620 00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:59,400 Speaker 1: of which you know we're reasonably near one another. I 621 00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:03,000 Speaker 1: think yeah, or maybe the sab Bonnes was was first, 622 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:04,759 Speaker 1: the sub Owns was first, and then it was like 623 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:08,520 Speaker 1: us at nine of visible near each other. Anyway, that's 624 00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:12,440 Speaker 1: a great mystery to solve. I'm all the time, I'm like, 625 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:17,439 Speaker 1: didn't I hear that before? What's the happening? We're out 626 00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:21,120 Speaker 1: of Halloween season, so I can't go past life experience, 627 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:27,120 Speaker 1: but go um so Sean also sent lots of UH 628 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:31,280 Speaker 1: future episode suggestions as well, So anyway, thank you SHAWNA 629 00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:35,080 Speaker 1: for this email. Thanks to everybody who's been writing to 630 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:37,279 Speaker 1: us lately. UH. If you would like to write to 631 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:40,279 Speaker 1: us about this or any other podcast, History podcast at 632 00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,000 Speaker 1: I heart radio dot com, we're all over social media 633 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:45,560 Speaker 1: as a miss in History. That's where you'll find our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, 634 00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:48,920 Speaker 1: and Instagram, and you can subscribe to our show on 635 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:52,000 Speaker 1: the I heart radio app and Apple podcast at anywhere 636 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:59,279 Speaker 1: else we get your podcasts. Stuff you missed in History 637 00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:01,799 Speaker 1: Class is a pro ouption of I heart Radio. For 638 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:04,560 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the I heart 639 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:07,719 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 640 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:12,400 Speaker 1: favorite shows. H