He worked with Dr. Blalock to develop a revolutionary shunt which mitigated the effects of these deformities. Harold contended that change in society didn’t occur unless people made the changes happen. HELEN B. TAUSSIG, M.D. Vivien Thomas’ leading role in the groundbreaking blue baby operations was not publicly acknowledged by Dr. Blalock or by Johns Hopkins for decades. Afterwards, Thomas trained young doctors at Johns Hopkins Medical School in methods of heart surgery. Leaving aside the question of whether Dr. Blalock should have encouraged Mr. Thomas to attend college and become a surgeon, describe why the Blalock/Thomas team is an example of effective teamwork. Helen B. Taussig. Compare the contributions to the Civil Rights Movement of Vivien Thomas and his brother Harold, who was a plaintiff in a landmark case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Vivien Thomas never left Blalock’s employ. To me, Taussig is a true inspiration. Helen was born, the youngest of four children, in Cambridge, Massachusetts to well educated parents: Frank Taussig, a Harvard Professor and Edith Guild, a “founding student” at Radcliffe (where Harvard had all its women students go). Open heart surgery includes surgery on the blood vessels leading to and from the heart. 2. Dr. Blalock gave Vivien Thomas that opportunity. Still, Dr. Blalock did a lot for Mr. Thomas, in return for what Mr. Thomas did for him. In 1944, in association with Dr. Helen Taussig, they designed and carried out the first blue baby operations. (Dr. Blalock retired in 1963 and died in 1964.) 18. For more than 30 years, the two men pursued a variety of medical research projects. 15. She needs a new ductus for them to oxygenate their blood. Race relations, the personalities of the two men, their work together, the state of medical research … are accurately presented in the movie. Ask and help your child to answer the Quick Discussion Question. The last time Dr. Thomas saw Dr. Blalock, the older man’s back was in such poor shape that he walked at a 45 degree angle, obviously in pain. Over time she realized that her young patients were blue because not enough oxygen was reaching their blood. Worse still, she became profoundly deaf after qualifying as a doctor. In their partnership, the two men treated each other as human beings and with respect. They were not friends because Dr. Blalock kept Mr. Thomas in a subordinate position and didn’t invite Mr. Thomas to important social occasions, such as the large party thrown for Dr. Blalock. Launched in 1922, Reader's Digest has built 90 years of trust with a loyal audience and has become the largest circulating magazine in the world, Reader’s Digest is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry). Helen Taussig (Mary Stuart Masterson), the pediatrician/cardiologist at Johns Hopkins, challenges Blalock to come up with a surgical solution for her Blue Babies. This would have meant that Dr. Blalock would have helped Mr. Thomas go to college and medical school so that he could become a surgeon. Vivien Thomas came to work for Dr. Blaylock as a janitor at Vanderbilt, and it was there that Dr. Blaylock trained Vivien Thomas in scientific research and surgery. * Diane Varsi - Movie Actress * Charley - Steinbeck's Poodle * Dr. Helen Taussig MD- Heart Researcher * Dr. Alfred Blalock MD- Heart Surgeon * Dr. Vivien Thomas PhD- Medical Researcher * Paul Iams - Businessman (Pet food) * 6 Bishops of the Diocese of Camden - Bishop Bartholomew Eustace - Archbishop Celestine Damiano - Bishop Justin McCarthy He was right. White people at Johns Hopkins were unused to a black man taking on such a role and they felt insecure when Mr. Thomas appeared in a white lab coat. Black doctors cared for the sick. Taussig identified thalidomide (a drug given to mothers to treat everything from morning sickness to insomnia and cough) as the culprit, causing its withdrawal from sale. Have students read and summarize at least five of the entries on HBO’s Share Your Story Page (containing remembrances and recollections of Vivien Thomas, Dr. Blalock and the experiences of many blue babies and their families); the students should then write a paragraph on which story they liked the best and why; 3. A good answer would point out that taking risks and being on the forefront of research in any field could be called arrogant. It played a large and probably a primary role in preventing Mr. Thomas and others from demanding that Mr. Thomas have the opportunity to go to college and later get a medical degree. Five young Baltimore women fundraised half a million dollars towards the construction of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, presented on the understanding that women could study there “on the same terms as men”. in 1921 from the University of California and her M.D. There is no one right answer to this question. While minor events have been rearranged and some scenes were invented to advance the storyline, this drama is accurate from the general historical and emotional standpoint. 18. AKA Helen Brooke Taussig. Her work in the clinic gave Dr. Taussig the opportunity to see hundreds of blue babies, children who had deformities of the heart that prevented much of their blood from reaching their lungs. Alfred Blalock (April 5, 1899 – September 15, 1964) was an American surgeon most noted for his work on the medical condition of shock as well as Tetralogy of Fallot— commonly known as Blue baby syndrome. Outside, the old rules remained.” What was meant by that? At Johns Hopkins, Dr. Blalock, Vivien Thomas, and Dr. Helen Taussig, a pediatric heart specialist, developed a shunt technique to treat blue baby syndrome. This enabled Mr. Thomas (later Dr. Thomas) to contribute to society and to partially fulfill his potential. Selected Awards: 2004 Emmy Awards: Outstanding Made for Television Movie; Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie; Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Directors Guild of America, DGA Award: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television; Writers Guild of America, USA, WGA Award (TV) Best Long Form – Original; Golden Globe Awards Nominations: Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television; Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television (Mos Def); 2004 Emmy Awards Nominations: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie (both Mos Def and Alan Rickman nominated); Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special; Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special; Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special; Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie; Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, Nomination: Best Picture Made for Television; Featured Actors: Alan Rickman as Alfred Blalock; Mos Def as Vivien Thomas; Mary Stuart Masterson as Dr. Helen Taussig; Kyra Sedgwick as Mary Blalock; Merritt Wever as Mrs. Saxon; Doug Olear as Michael Saxon. Had Mr. Thomas been a physician, he most likely would have been one of the premier surgeons in the country. Whether life’s challenges are what led Taussig to triumph will never be known, but she certainly taught that adversity is no barrier to success. From 1930 to 1963, Helen Taussig and her colleges worked in the Harriet Lane Home to develop the blue baby operation. The story of Vivien Thomas and Alfred Blalock is an excellent paradigm for the study of racism in the United States during the period 1930 – 1980. Dr. Blalock was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and awarded numerous honors including the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur. These procedures have saved tens of thousands of lives world-wide. From the standpoint of Dr. Blalock’s responsibility as a friend to Mr. Thomas, does the answer matter? “Something the Lord Made” is an excellent example of a film that faithfully describes major events, captures the spirit of the times, and gives an honest portrayal of the people involved. Just a few months before her death, she had the honour of watching Samuel Sanders, an acclaimed pianist and one of the first “blue babies” that she had helped to survive, give a recital in her honour. The doctor had a point, but Blalock had other considerations as well, most importantly, that the child would die without the operation. True caring, like true friendship, would have resulted in Dr. Blalock giving Mr. Thomas credit for his efforts in the blue baby operations. In “Something the Lord Made” there are four or five occasions in which the character of Dr. Blalock used profanity. Mr. Thomas and Dr. Blalock worked together at Vanderbilt University from 1930 to 1940. For example, he was allowed to use the same toilet as all of the white lab workers and doctors. Upon graduation, Dr. Taussig was assigned a job no one wanted, directing the Pediatric Cardiology Clinic at Johns Hopkins. The term “open” refers to the chest not to the heart itself. That doesn’t happen at the present time because the federal government insures deposits in banks up to a certain level. Nor did Dr. Blalock permit Mr. Thomas to play a role as a social equal outside of the lab. A good answer will point out at least the following two facts: (1) Dr. Blalock received the larger salary and the kudos as the scientist who discovered new treatments. There is no one right answer to this question. The title “Something the Lord Made” came from a statement made by Dr. Blalock. It is said that Vivien Thomas opened new paths to healing when most doors were closed to him. The Johns Hopkins Hospital named the Helen B. Taussig Congenital Heart Disease Center in her honor, and in 2005 the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine named one of its four colleges in her honor. Dr. Taussig was an early female graduate from Johns Hopkins Medical School. It was not until 1976 that Mr. Thomas was given an honorary doctorate by Johns Hopkins and appointed to be an instructor of surgery. What role did racism play in the fact that Dr. Blalock was able to keep Vivien Thomas as a lab assistant for so many decades and benefit from Thomas’ work without giving him credit? Why it took so long for Thomas to receive the recognition he deserved provides an excellent window into changing attitudes concerning race in the U.S. during the 20th century. What would have happened if either of them had not pulled his weight in the team effort? With the Great Depression making carpentry work scarce, he thought himself lucky to find a job as a janitor. Mr. Thomas might have had to leave his job as Dr. Blalock’s research assistant. Helen Cowan completed a PhD in cardiac pharmacology at Oxford in 2002. Vivien Thomas’ role was more unique than the role played by his brother. 5. Alfred Blalock and Helen Taussig. (Be kind; Be compassionate and show you care; Express gratitude; Forgive others; Help people in need). Taussig took the flame from these female torchbearers and lit a fire (in a fashion): she won more than 30 major awards and 20 honorary degrees. He never fulfilled his dream of becoming a doctor, but he was able to develop his talents as a scientific researcher and surgeon and make important contributions to science. Apparently, this is realistic. It was Vivien Thomas who repeatedly tested the surgery on the dogs whose hearts he had modified. Sadly, Helen was killed in a car crash at the age of 87. Zoe Buck. 4(4):450-453, October 2003. Was the blue baby surgery performed by Dr. Blalock full open heart surgery? Vivien Thomas fully participated in developing the blue baby operations, but he was not given credit for his contribution nor was he acknowledged to be a leading instructor of surgery for more than three decades. Lives were saved when she invented an operation to correct the circulation in babies born with faulty hearts: babies that had been blue due to lack of oxygen in their blood would turn pink soon after the operation, visibly brought back to life. Discussion Questions Relating to Ethical Issues will facilitate the use of this film to teach ethical principles and critical viewing. On November 19, 1944, as the Second World War raged in Europe, and after years of preparatory work performed primarily by Vivien Thomas, Dr. Blalock operated on a baby near death from blue baby syndrome. There are 25 questions (at four points each) suggested for classes that have seen “Something the Lord Made” and 19 Questions (at five points each) for classes that have watched “Partners of the Heart”. No one knows the answer to the first part of this question. In 1941, Dr. Blalock returned to Johns Hopkins as surgeon-in-chief at its hospital and director of the surgery department at the medical school. 24. A good answer will include a reference to the concept of nurturing. In 1944, Alfred Blalock, Helen Taussig, and Vivien Thomas revolutionized surgical treatment of the heart and nearby blood vessels through an improbable partnership among a white male surgeon, a white female physician, and an African-American male laboratory technician. Helen Brooke Taussig was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 24, 1898 to Frank W. Taussig and Edith Thomas Guild, who had three other children. Note that as of July 2016 evolving standards of ethics in the treatment of animals and advances in simulator technology have led all medical schools in the U.S. to abandon the use of animals in the first four years of medical education. In 1965 she became the first woman president of the American Heart Association. It was Dr. Helen Taussig, a Hopkins cardiologist, who came to Blalock and Thomas looking for help for the cyanotic babies she was seeing. Friends nurture each other. Thomas, p. 214. At the end of the film, Dr. Blalock says to Mr. Thomas, “They say you haven’t lived unless you have a lot to regret. Separately, each of these individuals was brilliant. Black firemen secured the neighborhoods. Why was cardiac surgery referred to as the “Mount Everest” of medicine before November of 1944? In 1954, Blalock received the Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award "For distinguished contributions to cardiovascular surgery and knowledge" jointly with Helen Taussig and Robert Gross. She served as an Archibald Fellow in Medicine at Johns Hopkins and worked at … Lodel Williams Luray Cooper. Were they? One measure of the progress in Civil Rights in the United States is that in 2004, more than 11 percent of the medical students at Johns Hopkins University Medical School were black. AN EXAMPLE OF THE INTERPLAY OF ALTRUISM AND SELF-INTEREST IN RACE RELATIONS: From 1930, when Vivien Thomas first applied to Dr. Blalock for a job as a janitor, until well into the 1950s, black people in the South were not permitted to use their creativity to contribute to scientific research. In addition, Thomas was treated with respect in many other ways. Mother of pediatric cardiology. He discovered that people went into shock due to loss of blood or other fluids. 12. Social-Emotional Learning Did Dr. Blalock act in a caring manner toward Mr. Thomas? In 1979, upon his retirement, Dr. Thomas was appointed instructor emeritus of surgery. This Dr. Blalock did not do and this is where he failed Mr. Thomas. 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