Something the Lord Made Page #5

what did you do?

What you suggested. A partial fistula.

l stitched the main arteries

and veins together, end-to-end...

and two lobes in the lungs.

and two lobes in the lungs.

We created a blue baby's heart in that dog.

Did we?

Now we have our disease model,

we can find a cure.

And much as l enjoyed

coming here to see you...

would you mind terribly

if l got you a telephone?

No, not at all.

Thank you.

A shunt.

l'm sorry, Doctor. What'd you say?

We need to create a shunt

to get more oxygenated blood to the lungs.

Can't see how to do it.

Remember back in Vanderbilt

when we were doing the research...

on how to create high blood pressure

in the lungs?

Yes, l connected the subclavian

to the pulmonary artery.

We failed to get the higher blood pressure...

but we did get higher blood flow.

Which is exactly

what Dr. Taussig said these babies need.

That's it. We build a bypass.

Take an artery and redirect it.

-Systemic artery to the pulmonary artery.

-Through the lungs.

lt's a long way around, but it gets you there.

lf we wait from the right side,

we have an advantage there.

But the recurrent nerve is in the way,

and if we kink that--

-Vocal cords parallel.

-And the carotid's here.

We may kill the brain if we damage that.

Comforting thought.

The subclavian....

Tie it off.

After the divide.

Cut it right under the clavicle.

Swing it down.

Long, slow general arc.

Will it hold if we pull it down four inches?

lf your hands don't get too excited.

Thank you for the vote of confidence.

No one's ever done anything as hard as this.

Changing the course of blood.

lt'd turn blue into pink.

And death into life.

l don't care what the chart says.

This girl wants to live.

-Retractor.

-No, suture.

Can't we try things my way occasionally?

All right.

Sutures.

Do you mind

if l show you something, Doctor?

Thank you.

Do you need any help?

No, that's fine. Thank you.

l have to purse-string the anastomosis.

Okay, there. He's all yours, Doctor.

Do you feel the connection?

Are you sure you did this, Vivien?

This is like something the Lord made.

Look, Mr. Saxon, Mrs. Saxon...

l acknowledge

that these are uncharted waters.

There are risks.

But l think we have found a way

to repair your daughter's heart.

How?

You're stationed, where,

Norfolk, is it, Mr. Saxon?

Yes, sir.

Been working on the Spencer,

trying to get her back out to sea.

You work on the engines, right?

Yes, sir.

l'd be changing around some of the piping...

leading to and from your daughter's heart.

-Just switching around the pipes?

-Yes.

Arteries that bring the blood...

to and from the heart to the lungs...

act just like pipes.

l've been successful,

switching them around.

-lt's that easy?

-No, it's not that easy.

No surgery is...

and this operation

has special complications.

But l still think it's worth doing.

We're going to talk about this, Doctor.

Good idea.

lt's going to be a lot harder with a baby.

We're going to have to collapse

one of her lungs.

She's already so cyanotic.

She's not getting enough oxygen...

and we're going to have to take away

half of her lung function.

You made those new clamps yet?

l'm working on it.

What if l shred her insides

with those clamps?

So many ways to fail.

Every second counts.

A single minute is too long.

A single minute

of poor blood flow to the brain...

a single second of open bleeding....

Are you saying

I shouldn't allow this doctor...

to perform a miracle to save my baby?

We don't get to demand miracles.

Honey, God has his plans.

Maybe we just have to accept it.

But l was so happy

when l was pregnant with Eileen.

You know, l haven't had enough time.

Why can't God let me get to know her first?

l mean, l don't want to go against him.

But why can't His plan be...

to let this doctor save her life?

Prof. Blalock.

Mrs. Saxon told me

you plan to operate on her baby.

-Have you seen this child, Doctor?

-l check on her every day.

And you're still going to proceed?

Have you had any success in the lab?

Absolutely. l successfully performed

a shunt on a dog just two weeks ago.

l can't imagine you're going to proceed

based on the laboratory success on a dog.

How many people have you saved?

So what you're saying is

you're performing an experiment...

not an operation?

My instincts tell me

nature made a mistake and l can fix it.

Would you like to see

what l've been doing, Father?

Right now my instincts tell me

perhaps you should come back another day.

What? Your quest for glory is vain, arrogant.

lt takes arrogance to cut someone

with a scalpel to save their life.

l have no doubt.

But if you intervene with God's will...

violate the purity of an innocent heart...

the parents, not you, Doctor,

will bear the burden of guilt.

Perhaps God is, as you say,

trying to kill this child.

l am not.

Look at this. The shunt gave out.

Looks like a train wreck.

What happened to you, Ponchos?

-Maybe we should just stop here, Doctor.

-No.

We using the wrong vessel?

What the hell's going on?

Viv, get up.

Wake up. lt's okay.

lt's okay, baby.

-lt's just a nightmare.

-My God.

Where the hell have you been, Vivien?

l had a dream

about this white woman last night.

Perhaps that's something

best kept to yourself.

No.

l knew it was Eileen Saxon.

She was all grown up.

She was sitting there in a corner.

She was knitting...

and she let out a baby voice...

and she fell over dead. l couldn't see it...

but l knew on the inside

she had a baby heart.

-She just fell over dead.

-What the hell does that have to do with....

The stitches didn't grow.

When we did the shunt on Ponchos,

he was 10 pounds. He went up to 20.

-He pulled it loose.

-l was wrong. Purse-stringing doesn't work.

We need a new stitching technique.

Continuous on the back wall,

interrupted on the front wall.

That's what we need.

And then, the shunt will grow.

65% oxygenation.

She's deteriorating so rapidly.

-Have we got time to practice the operation?

-We can't let up.

-What about the new stitching technique?

-We're trying it out tomorrow.

You have to see this.

Vivien Thomas is operating,

assisted by the Chief of Surgery.

Pull the inbound vein anastomosis.

Long, slow, general arc.

l can't see. Can you see, Vivien?

Could you adjust that lamp?

Are the clamps still holding?

-Yes.

-No kinking?

None.

All right, now for the tough part.

Continuous sutures on the back wall...

interrupted on the front.

Removing bulldog clamp.

Come on, girl.

Come on, please.

That's it, a little bit more.

l can feel the flow to the lungs.

Helen, tell the Saxons we'll be operating.

You bet.

You'll be ready.

Yes, now that l've seen the master at work.

Master of the hounds.

Your daddy should be proud of you.

l think he is.

Mine was only proud of the fact

that l could wiggle my ears.

l think he'll be proud when you operate.

He's dead.

The dead are with us all the time, l believe.

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