Has there ever been a problem that was thought to be unsolvable? Dr. Vivien Thomas has had this same dilemma with the disease Blue Babies. Blue babies is a disease that mostly affects young children and stops blood flow to the lungs, causing the skin to turn a bluish color. Dr.Vivien Thomas has worked during his early life, medical career, and even towards the end of his life.
Vivien Theodore Thomas was born in New Iberia Louisiana on August 29, 1910(“Vivien Thomas”). Although he grew up in Nashville, Tennessee(Hook 3). Vivien Thomas had two older brothers and a sister(“Vivien Thomas”). His father, William Thomas was a carpenter and his mother, Mary Eaton Thomas was a seamstress (“Vivien Thomas”). His father taught Vivien Thomas how to measure, cut and seamlessly fit wood together (Hooks 3). Vivien Thomas spent several years…show more content… Vivien Thomas repaired roofs, fixed plumbing and also broken steps to earn more money(“Vivien Scientist: Their Lives and Works Thomas”). In 1930, Vivien Thomas interviewed for a job as a surgical researcher at Vanderbilt University. “On Thomas's first day, Blalock showed him how to weigh a dog and calculate the amount of anesthetic needed to put it to sleep. He also taught his new lab assistant how to administer the drugs to the dog and prepare the equipment for surgery”(“Vivien Thomas”). After a while Vivien started to notice that he wasn’t getting paid as much as his white colleagues. Vivien Thomas complained to Dr. Blalock that he wasn’t paid as much as the white man who had the same job and he threatened to quit. A few days later he noticed his paycheck was better (Hooks 11). In 1941, Johns Hopkins Hospital in baltimore, Maryland, invited Dr. Blalock to become chief surgeon but he only accepted if the invitation was extended to Vivien Thomas also(Hooks
