Something the Lord Made Page #3

Good morning.

Where do you think l could find someone

to help us clean up the lab, Doctor?

-Who do you think you're talking to?

-l'm not sure.

l'm Vivien Thomas,

l work for Dr. Blalock, running this lab.

l'm Dr. Edgar V. Hecker...

Director of Laboratories.

l'd like some coffee and a doughnut.

Doctor.

There must be a mix-up.

Listen, l don't stand for insolence.

We'll see about this.

-You know, Doctor, there aren't many--

-What?

You'll have to speak up,

l can't hear too well in this ear.

You're one of the few women doctors

l've seen here.

At least they let me in

through the front door.

This is where we keep

some of the older kids.

Doctor, why do they squat like that?

A little boy told me

that it helps him breathe better.

lt cuts off the blood to the legs,

pushes it up into the lungs.

They both look very cyanotic.

Here he is now.

-Dr. Blalock. Welcome.

-Helen, sorry.

Here is the Saxon baby

l was telling you about last night.

Thank you.

She usually smiles

when someone does that.

Hello, Mrs. Saxon.

-What is that thing?

-lt's an oximeter.

Reads how much oxygen

there is in the blood.

She looks cold in there. But l can't hold her.

They say it isn't good for her.

l'm not even supposed to let her cry.

How do you keep a baby from crying?

Especially if you can't hold her.

You can see the change

in the shape and the size of the vessels...

as these hearts grow larger.

l did necroscopies

on some of my patients' hearts.

To study the malformations in detail.

lt's amazing they could live at all

with hearts like these.

Dr. Gross at Harvard

said only God could correct...

a narrowing indentation

of the left side of the aortic arch.

Perhaps that statement says

more about Harvard than it does about God.

That baby back there, how long?

Six months. A year at the very most.

-That's not right.

-Are you going to take this on, Doctor?

l want to see all your diagnostic notes.

l'll get them right away.

Thank you.

Put away the books, Vivien.

Let's not waste any more time

on theoretical crap.

Let's start with experiments.

Four separate defects of the heart

working in combination.

The pulmonary artery is constricted...

in the main artery before the divide,

diminishing blood supply to both lungs.

And the hole in the septum...

causes the used blood

to flow back into the arterial system...

instead of flowing through the lungs,

turning the babies blue.

A baby's heart is delicate.

lt's a goddamn minefield.

The first step is to see if we can create

the ''blue baby'' condition in a dog...

and then come up with a plan to solve it.

You're drinking too much coffee.

Balzac drank 300 cups of coffee in one day.

Of course, he died of a perforated ulcer.

Odds are against us

reproducing this in the laboratory.

Are you sure this is the limb

you want to climb out on?

Back in '29, when l had TB...

the x-rays showed a big gaping hole

in my left lung.

l laid there on a freezing porch...

in a sanatorium in upstate New York...

with 18 blankets on me.

Nothing but my nose

exposed to the elements.

Death's a very humbling thing to live with

day in and day out.

l swore then...

if l got my life back,

l would do something important with it.

l know, in every fiber of my being...

that this is a limb l want to climb out on.

lt's gonna be hell

trying to work with a child's vessels...

three or four millimeters thick.

Like sewing over cooked spaghetti noodles.

We'll need the smallest sutures.

We'll need to make our own tools.

-We could be in for trouble, Vivien.

-Big trouble.

-Dr. Alfred Blalock to OR, please.

-They're driving me crazy.

This goddamn war.

We don't have enough doctors.

My surgery cases are through the roof.

We don't have enough doctors.

My surgery cases are through the roof.

lf l'm not operating, l'm teaching.

You're gonna have to do

most of this research.

What'll you need?

l need a bulldog clamp

small enough for the baby...

but strong enough

to stop the flow of blood.

What about a breathing device?

l'd love a Positive Pressure Respirator,

but with this war going on....

Yeah, how in hell can l do the experiments

if l can't even get the equipment?

Shut up.

You surely pissed off Ed Hecker.

You mean l disturbed his afternoon nap?

What is it with you

and that boy of yours? Thomas.

Why'd you bring him up here?

We've been together more than 12 years.

He's a really good worker.

How about a little wager?

$50?

-Give him a break, Dick.

-You're on.

There's a rumor going around

you're contemplating heart surgery.

That's an intriguing rumor, don't you think?

Wouldn't it be a feather in our cap

if we were the first ones to do it?

lndeed, it would.

But l hope you'll forgive my skepticism.

There is no reason for us

to think it's possible.

And every indicator says it can't be done.

Most of us agree, Al, the risks are huge.

There isn't even any incremental progress.

Where you see risks, l see opportunity.

You gotta take care of that sink up in 4-B.

You said you were gonna fix these steps.

Yes, forgive me, l've been very busy at work.

But l will get to it.

The deal is $7 off for odd jobs every month.

You gotta pick up the pace.

With allied forces fighting at Cassino...

German Field Marshal Kesselring

has earned a reputation as one of our few....

This is good, sweetheart.

lt's got some kick to it tonight.

The same as last night.

Just put it on a different side of the plate.

Sometimes it's better the next day.

l hope so, 'cause guess what?

Tomorrow it's hash la king.

lt's hash la queen tonight.

l could get a job.

Who'll look after the girls?

l know it's not Nashville.

And l know...

l wouldn't be able to do

what l'm doing without you.

My father took care of us,

l'll take care of you.

And everything's gonna be just fine.

We'll be just fine here.

l know, you're right. We'll be fine here.

We're gonna run out of dogs

at this rate, Vivien.

lt's been three months,

and all l'm closer to is retirement.

Things move slow sometimes.

No matter what you want.

l'm getting close. l've got 30% desaturation.

l'm getting close. l've got 30% desaturation.

That dog was faintly blue at best.

Until we get the dog in the same state

as the baby, we can't go forward.

-What is the problem?

-Every time l constrict, it kills the dogs.

l've tried nylon, ligature,

umbilical tape, ox facet.

We need a new approach.

Okay, forget constriction.

Try a partial lobectomy.

Remove both lobes of the right lung.

Do an arteries to veins fistula,

where the medial wall of the aorta...

and the pulmonary artery adhere.

l'll be in the OR.

That's a very good idea, Doctor. Thank you.

-God damn it!

-You did the best you could.

With the condition of his liver,

you never had a chance.

l always have a chance.

-Get me his autopsy.

-Yes.

Sh*t.

Damn.

-What's that?

-Our new respirator.

l was rummaging around the machine shop.

lt's not pretty, but it works.

lt is pretty.

l knew l could count on you.

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