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Premiered May 30, 2004 | Full Schedule

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"Yet each morning they grew stronger."

Submitted by: Christina K., Montoursville, PA

This story is actually about my Mother and her twin sister. They were born on October 14th 1951, 3 months premature, and weighing under 1 lb. each. My Grandparents were given little hope that the two would survive. Each night, they were told not to expect them to live out the night, yet each morning they grew stronger. After 3 months in the hospital, they were sent home. Today, they are 52 years old. Katherine, my Aunt has lived with Cerebral Palsey her whole life, but is extremely healthy, again, beating the odds, and my Mother, Caroline, is also doing very well and is healthy, despite her many health problems growing up.
Blalock, Taussig and Thomas
"I recall Dr. Taussig drawing a diagram...to indicate where the incision would be made."

"My sister and I were both diagnosed as, 'Blue babies' at birth."

"I...appeared in Life Magazine with 'Anna' the dog."

"This is the story of my encounter with Dr. Blalock."

"Vivien Thomas was my Great Uncle."

"I was able to know my brother."

"My mother was Dr. Blalock's chief surgical nurse."

"I became a patient of Dr. Blalock in the summer of 1955."

"I have vivid memories of Dr. Blalock coming in to check on me."

"Every doctor...looked at his chart said, 'Oh, you're a Blalock baby!'"

"I was the 263rd 'Blue Baby.'"

"The story was fascinating, but so incredible I doubted its voracity."

"My sister Judy Marblewas born a blue baby in 1941."

Blue Babies
"I turned blue when I ran."

"He's a testament to these doctors who so long ago perservered and pioneered this surgery."

"It was amazing how pink she became."

"It took my mother till I was 4 weeks old to convince the doctors something was wrong."

"I did a 500-mile bicycle ride as a fundraiser last summer."

"'They say I cannot let him cry.'

"...I probably would not survive beyond 4 or 5 years old."

"We work in a field that no one cares about until they are on the table."

Congenital and Premature Babies
"...Yet each morning they grew stronger."

"Without the BT shunt... my daughter would not have made it to her first birthday."

"Without their pioneering efforts, my son would not have had a chance at life."

"My son is missing the right side of his heart."

"His first surgery took place when he was four months old."

Race Relations in the '50s
"My story involves the first group of black men to graduate from The Citadel."

"Some people believe that one person cannot make a difference."

"In Tennessee in the 1930s, there were no schools for blacks."

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