Something the Lord Made (2004) - full transcript

♪ ♪

Woman:
Oh, that's a lovely garden.

Man: Yes indeed.
It surely is.

Woman:
Thank you.

Man: All right, everybody,
that's it for today.

Be sure and get that drop cloth
up before you leave, all right?

Man #2: Yeah, I like the sound of that.
Man #3: Whoo!

♪ ♪

Man #2: I broke this down.
I'm just gonna leave it like that.

That's some nice work,
young blood.

Thank you, Mr. Lodel.



Yeah, your daddy
taught you right.

You know,
when all the construction starts coming back,

you got skills to make
something of yourself.

Thank you, sir.

Oh, it's fine.
I can wait till payday.

I'm sorry. All the others
have families to feed,

but you do good work.

I like what
you do, okay?

Okay.

You got a funny way
of telling me that.

Morning.

Didn't I tell you
I could pull some strings?

Yes, you did,
yes, you did, Charlie.

Thank you very much,
you're a good man.



Yeah.
But tell me why...

Morning.

Why would a doctor want
to hire a carpenter?

'Cause it ain't nothing
but scud work anyway.

You ain't
gonna like it.

You say the pay was
$12 a week?

Yeah.

I'm liking it already.

All right then.

Woman: Dr. Blalock,
this is Vivien Thomas.

Vivien?
That's a girl's name.

Yes, my mother was so sure
she was having a girl

that she picked the name
early and kept it.

You don't say.

I'm pleased
to meet you, sir.

Call me "Doctor," and, Frances,
you can tell this good doctor

that his theories are
extremely interesting

and I'll be
praying for him.

Yes, Doctor.

Though it's his patients
I should be praying for.

Keep up, son.

This is where
my work is done.

What is your work?

Medical research.

We push the limits
of surgery using stray dogs

we get from
the local dogcatcher.

They're darling,
but don't get too attached.

They're a means
to a great end.

The dog pounds get
cleaned out twice a day.

I need the lab
swept every morning.

Simple tasks, but they proved beyond
the abilities of your predecessors.

Now do you think
you can handle it?

♪ ♪

Woman: Honey, it's in the back seat.
Man: All right, I'll check it.

So?

So what?

Don't "so what" me.
Did you get it?

You got it.

You must have got it.
Oh, Vivien, oh!

It's working at a hospital, right?
Yeah yeah.

I'm so glad.
Everyone's gonna see how smart you are now.

Oh, I don't know how smart
you have to be shovel up,

but the guy I'm working for,

he seemed kind of eccentric,

but he's a doctor, yeah.
That's right, he is a doctor.

So you just keep your eyes open.
Mm-hmm.

We can get married now.
Yeah.

Do everything just
like we laid it out.

Doctor...

and Mrs. Thomas.

Vivien.

Good morning, sir.

You said you
were a carpenter?

Yes.

Did you go
to high school?

Yes, I did.
Got my diploma.

Planning on going
to Tennessee State next year

to study medicine,
be a doctor.

Unusual ambition
for a carpenter.

Well,
I always wanted to be one since I was a kid.

I almost saved up enough
money for college,

and then
slow down hit.

Those are Van Slyke-Neill
gas manometers over there.

So you can
handle a saw?

Yeah, since I was 12.

Do tell.

Well, for cutting
the lines my father

would measure on the lumber, sir.
Call me "Doctor."

So your daddy's
a carpenter too.

What does he think
of your ambition?

Oh, he's always known
I had my mind set on it.

Those apparatus on the workbench,
what are they called?

Van Slyke-Neill gas
manometers, sir... Doctor.

They are indeed.

Vanderbilt may be
a podunk institution,

but I'm gonna put it
on the medical map.

I'm working
on traumatic shock.

Damn thing kills thousands
of people every year,

and doctors don't know
what the hell to do about it.

Let me see those hands.

Pick that up.

Now the left hand.

Good.

Excuse me, Vivien.
Dr. Blalock wanted you to have this.

Thank you.
Good night.

Good night.

♪ ♪

Man:
You know what my grandfather did?

I know it doesn't have anything to
do with me going out on strike.

I said,
"Do you know what my grandfather did?" Yes.

He picked cotton in Mississippi.
You told me 100 times.

My grandfather was
a piece of property!

No better than that chair
or table over there.

His son became a free man
at the age of 15.

He raised me with hardly
an elementary-school education.

Now I see my son
graduate college

and go on
to teach school.

So don't tell me things
don't get better over time.

Things don't
just get better.

People got to change things,
Pop, make them better.

And if I don't do something now,
I'll be a dead man

before I get paid
like white teachers do.

Vivien, you know
I'm right about this.

All right now, Harold, just hold your head.
I got reading to do.

To anesthetize Brutus,

first we have to calculate the weight.
He weighs 18.4 kilograms.

And it should take

552 milligrams

of sodium barbital to
anesthetize him for three hours

if the absorption rate
is uniform.

Woman: Dogs?
What kind of doctor is he?

Well, when you
practice on dogs

and then you can
help heal people.

Gives me the willies.

It's not that bad.

I mean, you look inside,
you see all the colors,

all the pinks and blues,
the reds.

It's beautiful, Clara.
That's where life come from.

What's this?

Man: Hey, come on.
Hey, open up.

Excuse me, sir.

What's going on here?

Oh, the bank
is closed.

Closed?
Yep.

Man #2: Hey, open up!

Open up! Open this door!
Woman: It's 10:00.

Man:
Think I see somebody in there.

♪ ♪ Hey! Hey, open up.
It's 10:00. I gots to get to work.

Let's go.
We'll come back later. Stay.

Something's wrong.
It can't be closed.

Excuse me.

Excuse me, sir.

Hello. Hello.

Hello.

Get away from that window.
We closed.

But I have my money in there.
I need to get my money out.

I can't get your money
back for you.

Why not?
Tell me why not.

Go on home, son,
the bank has failed.

Sir, that's all my savings!
Vivien.

I had my money
for school in there.

No, Clara, they got
my money in there.

Sir, sir, that's
my money for college.

Your money's gone.

Gone? But what are
they talking about?

They talking about,
it's gone, Ma.

Well, we'll all...
we'll just have to start over.

Can't fight it now.
It's done.

It just feels
so wrong.

It took me seven years
to save that money.

You're not the only one in here
who had money in that bank.

It's done.
It's over with!

Still got
each other, Viv.

Yeah, we got each other.

That's all poor people
ever have is each other.

There's no cut down and cannula
in the femoral vein.

I showed you
how to do it.

I figured out a way

to give it barbital
intravenously.

Where you putting it?
In the forepaw.

The manometer?

It's all set up, Doctor.

Good.

You can begin
the incision.

I'm not ready for that.
If I say you're ready, you're ready.

I'll mark out the line

and you cut along it.

Just like you did
for your old daddy.

Like this? Just like that.
Keep your hand taut.

Why are we making
the incision here?

To gain access
to the pulmonary artery.

And how will
we find it, Vivien?

It's the artery
leading to the lungs

from the right side
of the heart.

Not bad.

Now the rib spreader.

And why are we gonna damage
poor Brutus' greater vessels?

To induce traumatic shock
to study it.

♪ ♪

Blalock:
Watch this manometer.

And imagine that Brutus
is a 16-year-old boy

just fell out of a tree
saving his mom's cat.

He's broken four ribs.
He's concussed.

Dad's rushed him to ER,
but he's gone into shock.

His blood pressure's way down.
His vital signs almost nonexistent.

Can we save him?

Not if I use present
methods of treatment.

See, conventional wisdom says I
should constrict the vessels.

I beg to differ.
Let's break their rules.

Use my rules.

Body needs blood.

Let's give it some.

How's that gauge?

It's still falling.

Maybe the experts are right.
Maybe I'm wrong.

Maybe I'll kill this boy and
break his mother's heart.

Hmm.

It's rising.
♪ ♪

That's life
coming back.

How's that
make you feel?

Good.

Very good, Doctor.

Let's look at the record
of our work.

Where's the smoked drums?

I'm sorry?

The smoked drums!

You didn't set
the smoked drums?

What is a smoked drum?

That's a smoked drum.
What the fuck is wrong with you?!

I record all the information I need
for my research on a smoked drum.

I did not know that.

Is nobody listening to me?!

God damn it!

I have to do
everything myself!

A whole days' work
goes down the toilet

and I have to start
all over again.

Do you have sawdust
or just plain shit for brains?

And where the hell do you think you're
going... Fine, get out of here.

♪ ♪

Vivien!

Vivien.

Oh, Jesus.

Hold on a minute,
will you?

I was not raised to take that type
of talk from anyone. My apologies.

I'm sorry I lost my temper.

Normally it takes assistants
months to learn

what you picked up
in a matter of days.

It won't happen again.

Please.

♪ ♪

♪ He was a famous trumpet man
from out Chicago way ♪

♪ He had a boogie style
that no one else could play ♪

♪ He was a top man
at his craft ♪

♪ But then his number came up
and he was gone with the draft ♪

♪ He's in the army now,
a-blowin' reveille ♪

♪ He's the boogie-woogie
bugle boy of Company B ♪

♪ They made him blow a bugle
for his Uncle Sam ♪

♪ It really brought him down
because he couldn't jam ♪

♪ The captain seemed
to understand ♪

♪ Because the next day the cap'
went out and drafted a band ♪

♪ And now the company jumps
when he plays reveille ♪

♪ He's the boogie-woogie
bugle boy of Company B. ♪

Ladies and gentlemen.

Fellas, take the music
down, will you?

Ladies and gentlemen,
thank you.

I mentioned to General
Cunningham the other day

how proud we were that Al
had chosen us over

all the medical schools
in the country.

John, why don't you tell
everyone what you said?

Be glad to, Walter.

I just got back
from a month at the front.

There are thousands
of our boys in field hospitals

all over North Africa
and Italy

who owe their lives
to Dr. Blalock's work

in the treatment of shock.

I want everyone here to know
how grateful we are to him,

and how proud
you all should be.

Hear hear!
Hear hear!

Dr. Blalock, welcome welcome.
Thanks, General.

Thanks, General.
It's great to have you here, Al,

but truth be told
it's Mary we really want.

Our new chairman of the
Department of Surgery,

my old and dear friend,
Dr. Alfred Blalock.

Thank you, Walter.

Mary and I welcome
you all to our home.

As do our dear children.

Sadie get them to bed now.

Thank you, Johns Hopkins,
for my prodigal return

after 15 years
in the Tennessee backwoods...

to find myself back here.

Dreams do come true.

You're the best surgeons
in the country

and I'm honored
to lead you.

To use
a timely reference...

"We'll storm the beaches
together shoulder to shoulder.

Lay siege to the mysteries
of medicine."

We'll make the kind of progress
Hopkins used to be known for.

I know we will accomplish
great things together.

Blalock:
I'm looking for my next watershed discovery.

Not to put too modest
a point on it.

It's not enough for us
to be great surgeons.

We need to be
outstanding researchers.

Any ideas?
Anything innovative?

Man:
What about skin grafts?

Testing what skin groups
might take?

Isn't skin merely
packaging?

No, it keeps out
an infection.

Excuse me, Dr. Blalock,
may I suggest something?

Please do. I'm very suggestible.
Tell us your name again.

I run the Harriett Lane Clinic for Children.
Dr. Taussig.

Yes yes, of course.

Ah, Dr. Longmire,
Dr. Kelvin, Dr. Cooley.

I've read about
your research.

Congenitally
malformed hearts.

Oh boy, women
and their hearts.

Vivien, would you get
Dr. Taussig a drink?

What would you like?

Champagne
would be lovely.

Let's lubricate
the vein of inspiration.

Go on, Dr. Taussig,
tell us more.

Well, it's something
that up to now has been

written off
as untreatable.

But I don't believe
it has to be.

I'm speaking of Tetralogy of Fallot.
Blue babies.

Yes, these children,
their hearts aren't failing.

They're suffocating, due to a blockage
in the main artery to the lung.

Pulmonary stenosis.

Taussig:
The mortality rate is 100%.

I've watched hundreds
of cyanotic children die.

I admitted a baby tonight
who will certainly die

simply because no one
has had the courage

to attempt a surgical
solution to this.

Well, maybe
with good reason.

To put it mildly.
Helen, you can't operate on the heart.

That's basic.
We don't have clinical proof of that...

That is my point exactly.

I think it's possible
for us to be able to...

Come on, Denton,
you have to stop the heart

to perform a complicated correction
in less than three minutes,

and by that time they're dead.
These children are doomed.

There must be a way to get
more blood to the lungs.

I doubt we could repair
the defect in the heart walls...

Without causing
ventricular fibrillation.

No, but maybe there's
a way to avoid interfering

with the greater
circulation.

If we focus on the pulmonary artery.
Blalock: Mm-hmm.

Who on this
God's Earth are you?

♪ ♪

I brought home some food
from the party.

I'm trying to get
her down, Viv. Hold on.

Okay, girl.

Now go to sleep, baby.

Go to sleep.

The girls are just
getting to bed?

Two-ton neighbor upstairs
nearly burst through the boards.

I'm gonna
have to fix that.

What, are you gonna
fix the fat man?

Get himself hollering
his head off

when the girls is
trying to sleep?

Try a deviled egg.
They're real good.

Seen better
in Nashville.

I want
to go home, Viv.

Clara,
it's our first week.

Yeah, and you said if we
didn't like it, remember?

Yes.

Our family's
in Nashville.

We had a nice home
in a good neighborhood,

the schools were fine.

Not living
in this...

I don't know how we're gonna make it
on that paycheck he's talking about,

and he got you serving drinks at
his party just to make ends meet.

Viv, come on. Try to understand when I
started at Vanderbilt I was a janitor.

I know. And Dr. Blalock saw what I could
contribute, and he gave me a chance.

And when they offered him
that big job in Detroit,

he didn't take it
because they didn't take me.

Now I'm a lab assistant
to a top surgeon

at the number-one medical school
in the country.

And it's a good position.
And what about you going to medical school?

You don't have to remind me of that, Clara.
We have a family now.

Sweetheart,
it's important work.

And it's a real opportunity
and I love what I'm doing.

So it doesn't really matter
how I feel then, does it?

Clara, you know
it matters.

Blalock:
See that man?

That's Johns Hopkins
himself.

Sir William Osler,

the father of modern
American medicine.

William Halstead,
invented the mastectomy.

Let me show you
some of the others.

Excuse me.

All workers punch in
at the rear entrance.

He's with me.

That don't make
any difference.

Do you know who I am?
No sir.

I'm Dr. Blalock,
chief surgical professor.

Well, I'm sorry, Dr. Blalock,
but that's the rules.

I'll meet you
in the labs, Vivien.

Hey, you need
to punch in first.

Oh, thank you.
Thank you.

I can see
we've arrived.

When was the last time
they used this place?

Have someone clean it up before
they put the equipment in.

I'll meet you in an hour
at the Harriet Lane wards.

Let's see if there's anything
in this idea of Dr. Taussig's.

Man: Excuse me.

Good morning.

Where do you think I could find someone
to help us clean up the lab, Doctor?

Who do you think
you're talking to?

I'm not sure.

I'm Vivien Thomas.

I work for Dr. Blalock,
running his lab.

I'm Dr. Edgar V. Hecker.

Director of laboratories.
I'd like some coffee and a doughnut.

Doctor, Doctor.

There must be a mix-up.

Listen you, I won't
stand for insolence.

We'll see about this.

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

What? I'm sorry.
You'll have to speak up.

I can't hear too well
in this ear.

You're one of the few women
doctors I've seen here.

Oh, at least they let me
in through the front door.

Hmm.

This is where we keep
some of the older kids.

Doctor.
Hmm?

Why do they
squat like that?

A little boy told me that
it helps him breathe better.

It 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 I was
telling you about last night.

Thank you.

Mm-hmm.

She usually smiles
when someone does that.

Hello, Mrs. Saxon.

What is that thing?

It's an oximeter.

It reads how much oxygen
there is in the blood.

She looks cold in there,
but I can't hold her.

They say it isn't
good for her.

I'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 of the size of the vessels

as these hearts
grow larger.

I did necroscopies on some
of my patients' hearts

in order to study
the malformations in detail.

It's amazing they could live
at all with hearts like these.

Mr. 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?

Helen, I want to see

all your diagnostic notes.

I'll get them
right away.

Thank you.

Blalock:
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's
delicate.

It'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.

The 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 I had TB...

the x-rays showed a big

gaping hole in my left lung.

I laid there
on the freezing porch

in a sanatorium
in upstate New York

with 18 blankets on me.

Nothing but my nose
exposed to the elements.

Hmm.

Death's a very humbling
thing to live with

day in and day out.

I swore then...

if I got my life back

I would do something
important with it.

I know

in every fiber
of my being,

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

It'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.

Woman over P.A.:
Dr. Blalock.

Dr. Alfred Blalock
to OR, please.

Blalock:
They're driving me crazy.

This goddamn war.

We don't have
enough doctors.

My surgery cases
are through the roof.

If I'm not operating,
I'm teaching.

You're gonna have to do
most of this research.

What'll you need?

I need a bulldog clamp

small enough for the baby

but strong enough
to stop the flow of blood.

What about
a breathing device?

I'd love a positive
pressure respirator,

but with this war
going on?

How in hell can
I do the experiments

if I can't even
get the equipment?

Dr. Alfred Blalock to OR, please.
Oh shut up.

Well, you surely
pissed off Ed Hecker.

You mean I 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?
Whoa whoa whoa!

Give him
a break, Dick.

You're on.

There's a rumor going around you're
contemplating heart surgery.

Well, 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?

Oh, indeed it would.
But I hope you'll forgive my skepticism.

There's 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,
I see opportunity.

Hey, you gotta take care
of that sink up in 4B.

And I thought you said you
were gonna fix these steps?

Yes, forgive me,
Mr. Green,

I've been very
busy at work.

But I will get to them.

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

You gotta
pick up the pace.

Man on radio:
With Allied forces fighting

at Cassino, German
Field Marshal Kesselring

has earned a reputation...

Mmm!
This is good, sweetheart.

It's got some kick to it tonight.
♪ ♪

It's the same
as last night.

Just put it on a different
side of the plate.

Sometimes it's better
the next day.

I hope so,
'cause guess what?

Tomorrow it's
hash a la king.

And hash a la queen tonight.
Ohh.

I could get a job.

Who'll look
after the girls?

I know it's
not Nashville.

And I know...

I wouldn't be able to do
what I'm doing without you.

My father took care of us.
I'll take care of you.

And everything's gonna be just fine.
We'll be just fine here.

You're right.
We'll be fine here.

Blalock: We're gonna run out
of dogs at this rate, Vivien.

It's been three months

and all I'm closer to
is retirement.

Things move slow
sometimes.

No matter what you want.
I'm getting close.

I've got
30% desaturation.

That dog was
faintly blue at best.

Till we get the dog in the same state
as the baby, we can't move forward.

What is the problem?

Every time I constrict,
it kills the dogs.

I've tried nylon, ligature,
umbilical tape, ox fascia.

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.

I'll be in the OR.

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

Damn it!

You did the best
you could.

With the condition of his liver,
you never had a chance.

I, always have a chance.

Get me his autopsy.
Yes sir.

Shit!

Damn!

What's that?
Our new respirator.

I was rummaging around
the machine shop.

It's not pretty,
but it works.

Whoa!

It is pretty.

I knew I could
count on you.

You're the only one
I can trust around here.

I suspect others relish the
thought of seeing me fail. Oh.

Mary!

There's an ambulance in the driveway.
Good evening.

General Cunningham needed help
carting wounded Gls off the ship.

So I volunteered to be
a driver on the base.

Oh.

Wow, that's wonderful.
Not really.

I got a lot of time
on my hands.

She wouldn't go to bed?

Not until
you came home.

You know what
she said today?

She said she wanted to be
a patient when she grows up.

So she can get
to see her daddy.

Hmm.

I don't remember you wearing a tool
belt at your coming-out party.

Guess it has been
a couple of weeks

since I made it home
before 11:00.

No, it's 23 days.

Not as if I don't know the lot
of a doctor's wife, but...

I miss you.

It's gonna change.

It's probably
gonna get worse.

Hey, Vivien.
Hey, Dr. Longmire.

Is Dr. Blalock in?
No, he's not.

I don't know
where he is.

You should
check his office.

That's an interesting
procedure.

Never seen a clamp
like that before.

It's for small
vascular work.

Where'd you get it?

I pieced it together
from some things lying around.

Ahh, now we're getting somewhere.
Uh-huh.

You're not even looking.
Hmm.

It's like when you come home
late at night, you know?

You know the feel
of the room in the dark.

That looks impossible.

Oh no no, if I can
do it, you can do it.

You see, uh...

this string here,
that's how you get traction on the suture,

'cause you need a lot of
exposure for the anastomosis.

Mm-hmm.

I'd like to work
with you some time.

Oh fine, Dr. Longmire,
that'd be fine.

My emergency rotation
starts in 10 minutes,

but I can come in
on Thursday.

That'd be fine.
You have a good day, Doctor.

Harold?

What are you
doing here?

I was in
the neighborhood.

The Supreme Court... you finally made it.
Mm-hmm.

A long time. You been working on
this case for what, nine years?

No no, 12 years.
12 years?

Time.

So tell me, tell me,
what was it like?

Well, nine white guys
in big gowns walked in first.

Then the school board
lawyer.

Our lawyer
Thurgood Marshall,

he looked
kind of lonely in there.

And you know what them people
said in their brief?

Said since colored teachers
in Nashville live so cheaply,

they should pay us a whole
lot less than white teachers.

But let me tell you...
Thurgood...

Thurgood said he'd be goddamned
if they could get away with that.

So he gets up and says to that white lawyer,
"You're full of it.

Have you ever read
the Constitution?

The damned 14th Amendment...

the equal protection clause

says a government can't
discriminate based on race."

Yes, Lord.

I mean,
he was good, Viv.

I think we got the Board
of Education on the run.

That's good news, Harold.
So when will they decide?

Could be months,
longer.

I don't know, but I can wait,
after all these years.

All those calls I got
in the middle of the night...

white folk telling me
they gonna kill me

if I don't drop
this lawsuit.

No, you gotta show 'em you won't
take that kind of treatment.

Come here.
So listen to me when I tell you,

you need to leave this sorry-ass
place and that dead-end job.

Oh, Harold, Dr. Blalock's
doing the best he can for me.

Ah, it's not enough.

He trusts me to carry out
those experiments on my own.

I'm running the whole lab.
Thank you, baby.

But does he compensate
you extra for that?

Oh now, Harold,
Vivien's doing important research now.

But he's forgetting
what Granddaddy told us.

He said he regretted acting
so grateful for being free,

for what really wasn't any freedom at all.
Wasn't freedom at all.

I know, I remember.
That's right. Did you hear that?

Hey. What you giving
him extra for?

What's wrong with me? Nothing minding
your own business wouldn't cure.

You got that white coat.

But you're just a class three worker,
same as me.

In fact,

I got two years
seniority on you.

I'm making more
than you.

Don't think you some kind
of big shot around here.

Excuse me, buddy.
Class three, what does that mean?

It means salary grade.

And, ma'am, and this here?
What's this?

Job classification.

What is class three?

Maintenance worker.

I'm a lab technician.
That can't be.

Vivien Thomas.

Okay. Here we go.

"Vivien Thomas,
class three."

Thank you.

How's it going?
The vessel's tolerating ligation.

Any progress?

If you kill that dog,

I swear I will take it
out of your paycheck.

I'm finished up here.

Dr. Longmire,
would you mind closing up for me? Thank you.

Oh, come on, Vivien.

Vivien.

Vivien.

Vivien, I...
I was kidding about taking it

out of your paycheck.

Well, good luck 'cause
I only make $16 a week.

That's for a 16-hour day.

Well, that's all
they can pay.

That's all they can pay class
three workers around here.

What are you
talking about?

That's my job
classification.

Who cares what
they call you,

you and I both know how valuable
the work is that you do.

If my work is so important,
then why am I class three?

Two grades below what I do
in classification and pay.

I don't know why. I don't pay
attention to bureaucratic details.

I see. Look,
at Hopkins you can't be a technician

without a college degree.
And where are you going?

I need to fix
some steps.

We have work to do.

Do I have
your permission

to do some work for my landlord,
so I can pay my rent?

Longmire: Dr. Blalock,
could you come here please?

You're not gonna
believe this.

Look at the oximeter.

The gums are blue, Doctor.
Vivien did it.

Mary:
Off, Alfred.

Off, Alfred!

I brought him up here.

I gave him this opportunity.

I don't set
the pay scale.

I just don't see
what more I can do.

You're probably
feeling guilty.

Guilty? What the hell do I
have to feel guilty about?

For not sending him
to college.

You think I should have
sent Vivien to college?

Sure, why not?
Told me that was his dream.

Even mentioned it
to me once.

You know I need him
in the lab.

Well...

I guess there's only so much
good one person can do.

Congratulations
on the dog.

The kind of raise
you're suggesting,

how important is this?

He makes it
possible for me

to be in many places
at the same time.

Can't you just hire
a well-trained college kid...

No, I can't. His hands
are important to me.

He's good at following my instructions,
improving on them.

Better than anyone
I've ever encountered.

So you want me to circumvent
every administrative regulation

on behalf of a colored helper.

Walter, I'm close
to accomplishing something,

and I need him with me so I
can continue with my research.

Can I count
on your help?

Hello, Clara.

Dr. Blalock.

Come in, sir.

Thank you.

Is Vivien at home?

Yeah, he's putting
the kids down.

Viv.

You know...

in 13 years,
Dr. Blalock,

I don't recall you ever
stopping by our house.

I don't recall
ever being invited.

Professor.

Did something
happen?

Yes, I obtained a raise for you,
25 extra dollars a month

on top of what you're already making.
That's 300 for the whole year.

Will that be sufficient?
What job classification?

Surgical technician.
I got you promoted.

Promoted... to what
he already does.

Excuse me.

Now you can pay your rent and put
all your focus on our research.

Vivien, back there in the lab with Panches,
what did you do?

What you suggested.
A partial fistula.

I stitched the main arteries
and veins together end to end,

and two lobes
of 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 as much as I enjoyed
coming here to see you,

would you mind terribly
if I got you a telephone?

No, not at all.

Thank you.

A shunt.

I'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, I 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 then...

Through the lungs.

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

If we went from the right side,
we have an advantage there.

But the recurrent nerve is in the way,
and if we kink that...

Vocal cords paralyzed.
And the carotid's here.

We may kill the brain
if we damage that.

Comforting thought.

The subclavian...

tie it off here.

After the divide.

Cut it right
under the clavicle.

Swing it down,

along a slow
general arc.

Will it hold if we pull it
down four inches?

If 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.

And turn blue
into pink.

And death into life.

I don't care
what the chart says.

This girl
wants to live.

Retractor.
No, suture.

Can't we try things
my way occasionally?

Oh, all right.

Sutures.

Do you mind if
I show you something, Doctor?

Thank you.

Do you need
any help?

No, that's fine,
thank you.

I 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,

I acknowledge that
these are uncharted waters.

There are risks.

But I 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.

Well, I'd be changing
around some of the piping

leading to and from
your daughter's heart.

Just... just switching
around the pipes?

Yes.

Arteries that bring the blood
to and from the heart

to the lungs
act just like pipes.

I've been successful
switching them around.

It's that easy?

No, it's not that easy.

No surgery is,

and this operation has
special complications.

But I still think
it's worth doing.

Well...

we're gonna talk
about this, Doctor.

Good idea.

It's gonna be a lot
harder with a baby.

We're gonna have
to collapse one of her lungs.

She's already
so cyanotic.

She's not getting
enough oxygen,

and we're gonna have to take
away half of her lung function.

You made those new clamps yet?
I'm working on it.

What if I 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.

Mrs. Saxon:
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 I was so happy when
I was pregnant with Eilene.

You know, I haven't
had enough time.

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

I mean, I don't want
to go against Him.

But why can't His plan be...

to let this doctor
save her life?

Professor Blalock.

Mrs. Saxon told me you plan
to operate on her baby.

Have you actually
seen this child, Doctor?

I check on
her every day.

And you're still
going to proceed?

Have you had any success
in the lab?

Absolutely.
I successfully performed a shunt on a dog

just two weeks ago.

I can't imagine
you're gonna proceed

based on a laboratory
success on a dog.

How many people
have you saved?

So what you're telling me is you're
performing an experiment, not an operation?

My instincts tell me

nature made a mistake
and I can fix it.

Would you like to see
what I've been doing, Father?

And right now
my instincts tell me

perhaps you should
come back another day.

What? Your quest
for glory is vain,

arrogant.

It takes arrogance to cut
someone with a scalpel,

to save their life.
I 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.

I am not.

Vivien:
Oh, look at this.

The shunt gave out.

Yeah, it looks like
a train wreck.

What happened
to you, Panches?

Maybe we should just stop here, Doctor.
No.

We using
the wrong vessel?

What the hell's
going on?

Babe, babe.

Get up, baby.

Mm-hmm.
Wake up.

It's okay.
It's okay, baby.

It's just a nightmare.

Oh my God.

Where the hell have
you been, Vivien?

I had a dream about
this white woman last night.

Well, perhaps that's something
best kept to yourself.

No...

I knew it was Eilene 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.

I couldn't see it,
but I knew that inside she had a baby heart.

She just fell over dead.
What the hell does that have to do wi...

The stitches

didn't grow.

When we did the shunt
on Panches, he was 10 pounds.

He went up to 20.
He pulled it loose.

I 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.

How will you have time
to practice the operation?

We can't let up.

What about the new
stitching technique?

We're trying
it out tomorrow.

Man: Hey,
you have to see this.

Vivien Thomas is operating
assisted by the chief of surgery.

Pull the inbound vein
ostomosis.

Long slow gentle arc.

I 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.
A little bit more.

I can feel the flow
to the lungs.

Helen, tell the Saxons
we'll be operating.

You betcha!

You'll be ready.

Yes.

Now that I've seen
the master at work.

Master of the hounds.

Your daddy should
be proud of you.

I think he is.

Mine was only proud of the fact
that I could wiggle my ears.

I think he'll be proud
when you operate.

He's dead.

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

Can't separate the past
from the future,

any more than you can your
right arm from your left arm.

Ah, but you see,
they are separated,

by this,
by the heart.

Or connected.

Or connected.

"No... li...

tangare."
Do not touch.

Do not touch
the heart.

We are gonna challenge
this ancient doctrinal myth

in this hospital.
Who wants to attend?

Dr. Swedlin?

Dr. Filmore?

Dr. Cooley.

And Dr. Longmire.

Thank you.

Al, you're dangling
your reputation off a cliff.

Calm down, Walter,
this isn't grand opera.

Isn't a doctor's first tenet
"do no harm"?

What are you saying?

Postpone the operation
until you have more experience.

Postponing means signing
that baby's death warrant.

I will not be
the one to do that.

But they'll ruin you.

Walter, I'm operating
tomorrow.

Oh, Al.

You're rushing this.

'Cause you don't want
to admit to those parents

that you spoke too soon.

You should
come to bed.

I tried that.

Can I give you a ride
to the hospital tomorrow?

Thanks.

I could use the lift.
I don't trust myself behind the wheel.

Al, anybody
would be nervous.

It's not that.

I was just thinking
about a remark you made.

You said I used
to be wild,

or just ambitious.

But I wonder if my ambition
hasn't driven me wild.

Dr. Taussig. Professor.

I just wanted to wish
good luck to everyone.

Taussig: Thank you, Vivien.
Thanks, Vivien.

We're gonna block that
baby's pulmonary artery

for 30 minutes.
Oh.

As long as her blood pressure
doesn't go below 60,

I think,
she should be fine.

I don't think she can survive
much lower than that.

Isn't that right,
Dr. Harmel?

Not below 60,
that's right, Doctor.

Dr. Blalock,
they're ready.

Doctor.

Man:
Coming in now.

Dr. Longmire.

Man:
What the hell is he doing?

What is going on?

They won't page him.
Why not?

Something about
hospital policy.

Page Vivien Thomas
immediately.

Dr. Blalock, what's wrong?
What's happened?

It's all right.
I won't tell you again. Page him.

We're only allowed
to page doctors.

Gimme that goddamn phone!

Vivien Thomas,
paging Vivien Thomas.

You're wanted in OR.
Right now.

Come on, run, do you hear?
This is Blalock.

Thank you.
Good luck.

Oh.
Jesus.

About time. Scrub up.
Scrub up?

You're coming in with me.

Would you find Mr. Thomas
something to stand on?

What for, Doctor?

You're talking me through this.
Now scrub up.

What's he doing?
What the hell's that?

I'll see
about this.

Should we say
a prayer?

Forget it.
He won't listen to me.

Dr. Blalock, a word.

You can resume your duties.
These are his duties.

Can you see now?
Yes, Doctor.

Okay, I think
we're ready to start.

Okay.
We're going in.

It's gonna be
all right.

It'll be just fine.

You'll be all right.

Incising
the mediastinal pleura

from the main left
pulmonary artery.

To the apex
of the pleural space.

I'm dissecting
the pulmonary artery.

Well back
into the mediastinal.

This all right,
Vivien?

That looks fine.

The right angle clamp.

Blalock:
Okay, I think it's holding.

Are you able to deliver
the left subclavian artery?

I believe so.
Blood pressure?

70, falling.

Now do not move
that light!

And now

I'm dividing the ar... ooh!
Careful!

Clamp it, clamp it!

I can't reach it, Doctor.

I got it.
Hemorrhage controlled.

Can you see, Doctor?

Not really.

Nurse.

For goodness sake,
can't you even see my ears?

Sorry, Doctor.

Blalock:
The suture.

Blood pressure is 68.
Yes yes, go on.

Watch the carotid.

Yes, traction
on the suture.

Okay, now the clamp
Vivien made.

What clamp?

The one just there.
Right here, yes.

We're about
to connect the shunt.

Blood pressure is 60.

No, 59.

I know.
I'm almost there.

Now front interrupted.

Real good.
That's good, Doctor.

That's good,
just little more now.

Removing
the bulldog clamp.

I see some bleeding right... I know.
I see it too. Suture.

Suture!

No no, Doctor,
the other way.

Yes yes!

Good good,
you got it now.

Bleeding controlled.

Blalock:
I'm palpating the connection.

What do you feel?

I can't tell if blood is
flowing through the shunt.

It's just too small
to feel anything.

Dr. Blalock,
you have to see this.

Oh-hh my God.

Blalock: My God.

Her blood pressure
is rising.

Evacuate the blood
in the chest cavity, Bill.

Put in the chest tube.

Doctor:
Are we inflating the left lung with oxygen?

Ready for closure.

Who'd have thought it possible...
heart surgery?!

And we did it right here
at Johns Hopkins!

Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.

Walter: It'll be taught in every
school and hospital around the world!

We did it!
We did it!

I knew you could do it.
I knew you could...

Man:
Some operation, huh?

Man #2: Amazing.
That child's chances were so slim.

Took a hell of a surgeon
to pull her through.

He was lucky to have that
nigger in there with him.

Thomas sure
saved his ass.

I'd like to see him
try it without him.

You did well
in there, Vivien.

Thank you.

You performed
an excellent surgery, Doctor.

Yes.

I think I did.

Please, I understand,
but this is a hospital.

Can you please keep
your voices down?

I can understand
how you all must feel,

but we have been overwhelmed
with children

from all across
the country,

and then there's
just one doctor

to perform
these operations.

So if you could just go
to the administration office,

they'll be able
to accommodate

all of you into
Dr. Blalock's schedule,

as soon as possible,
all right?

I'm terribly sorry.

Making the first incision.

Are you there, Vivien?
Yes, I'm here.

Thank you for the opportunity
to observe, Dr. Blalock.

It's an honor, Doctor.

Once again, excellent work, gentlemen.
Thank you, Helen.

Now may I introduce
my colleagues?

Dr. Helen Taussig,
Vivien Thomas.

This is Dr. Craford
from Stockholm,

and Dr. Petrovsky
from Leningrad.

You have given surgeons around the
world great courage with your deeds.

Coming from such an eminent
surgeon as yourself,

that is a compliment
indeed.

It's been a great pleasure
to meet you, Dr. Taussig.

Oh, thank you.

Dr. Thomas.

Call me Mr. Thomas
or Vivien.

You're not a doctor?

Oh no, I just work here
with Dr. Blalock.

Can we please have all
the doctors who participated

in the Blue Baby operation
in this shot?

There's a young woman
who hitch-hiked

from Appalachia
with her son.

And I think his blood levels
may be low enough to test.

Talk to Dr. Taussig
about scheduling him in.

If you'd all turn and face the center,
please, like Dr. Longmire.

Helen. Photographer:
Very good.

Thank you.
Now focus your attention here, please.

Smile, focus here.
Hold that.

Good.

Now if we could have one
of you alone, Dr. Blalock.

Very good, sir.
Focus here if you would.

Here we go, Doctor.
Look here. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

They're nice pictures,
aren't they?

They always have
nice pictures.

Just 'cause you're
not in the news

doesn't mean you
weren't there, Viv.

I'll... I'll be back.

Man:
A man who is a real pioneer.

A gambler who takes
all the right risks,

who's rescued untold lives
with his work in shock

and has gone on
to challenge

the entire
medical establishment

to reconsider
an age-old taboo

in performing the world's
first heart surgery.

Now without
embarrassing myself,

I'd like to introduce
a man who has

undeniably brought a dash
of pink to the cheeks of others.

Dr. Alfred Blalock.

Thank you.
I am indeed honored.

And while I'm grateful

for the many gifts

that have been given
to me in my life...

perhaps the greatest gift
has been the support

of my colleagues
over this last year.

My good friend
Walter Dandy.

The wonderful
brilliant colleagues

who assisted me
in our operation,

Dr. Helen Taussig,

Dr. William Longmire,

Dr. Denton Cooley,

Dr. Mel Harmel.

I believe one group
of people could not have

accomplished so much
in so little time

without a strong
unified effort

in the spirit
of breaking new ground...

together.

To further
the reach of medicine

is one that should
be cherished

and never
allowed to die.

What the hell
is this?

I need to do
something different.

What about our work?

You got all of those other
people you were thanking.

What are you
talking about?

The Belvedere Hotel.

The Belvedere is segregated.
You were there?

Snuck in,

dressed like a bellhop.

Is that what this
is all about,

hobnobbing with
the powers-that-be?

Vivien, they will never
let you into their club.

It is naive
to think otherwise...

Will you
stand still?!

I'm not talking
about them.

I'm not talking
about Hopkins.

I'm talking about you.

Me?

What have I ever done
except fight

in your corner?

I have taken you every step
of the way with me

and now you wanna throw
all that away, for what?

Is that any way
to show your gratitude?

I don't know.
You tell me, Doctor.

Vivien.

Take pride in the fact
you have power in your mind

and in your heart.
And in my hands.

Exactly,
in your hands.

We made history
together.

We changed the world.

The world...

I'm invisible
to the world.

I don't mind that.
I understand that.

I thought it was
different in here.

Man: Mr. Thomas,
I'm a little confused.

Now you want college credit
from Morgan State,

without actually
taking classes?

In certain courses.
Yes, I'll take the test.

I'll take finals.

Chemistry, biochemistry,

science, physics.

So I can get the credit
for material I already know.

I need to get through college
a little more quickly,

so I can get on
to med school.

And so you actually
participated in

all this groundbreaking
research, Mr. Thomas?

Yes yes, I did.

Yeah, well...

I'm afraid it
just doesn't work like that.

You'll have to start
with freshman English,

a social science, maybe...

I don't have
time for that.

I'm 35 years old.

You're saying that I'd have
to start at the beginning?

Well, yes, Mr. Thomas.

I'm afraid that is
in fact what I'm saying.

I thought this institution provided
opportunity for colored people?

I have a wife,
two young daughters, son.

And I've been working
in my field for over...

almost 15 years now.

I'm from Nashville.
I came...

Man:
And what can I do for you?

My name is
Vivien Thomas.

I work for
the Ralph Wintham Company.

We have a line
of pharmaceuticals,

particularly antacids.

We already have
a supplier of antacids.

Yes, well,

these antacids block against
gastroesophageal reflux

without any added side effect.
Vivien Thomas.

The fellow
with the blue babies?

A patient of mine
works at the hospital,

told me about you.

Hopkins is doing well

because of what
you did for them,

and here you are.

Well...

I don't have anything
against the hospital.

I'm just working in medicine
in a different way now.

Let's see what
other lines you have.

Well, yes, we have
effervescent powder here.

Oh!

Will you look who's here?!

Hello, hello!
Clara: Come on, baby, say hi to grandma.

Oh, my bab...

oh, my goodness!

How you doing?
How you doing, sweetheart?

Look at him. Look at him.

Stop all that running.

Go upstairs
and wash your hands,

and bring your little sister
back down with you.

And be careful
on them steps.

Well, what about
construction?

Father: I keep asking him...
Thomas & Thomas.

With the building boom,
we could clean up.

Now he know I can't saw a plank worth a damn.
That's the truth.

Yeah, Dad, I did see
that mailbox leans

to the side a little bit.

I still don't understand why you
quit teaching in the first place.

I never really liked
the classroom that much, Clara.

Too many kids.

But you fought all those years,
and you won the case, so...

Exactly.

And quitting now means you've
just wasted a whole lot of time.

No no, I...

Well, I don't think
it's a waste of time.

If Harold wasn't down there
doing what he was doing,

there would still be a lot of colored
teachers down there getting cheated.

I think they ought to name
the school after him.

Yeah, Harold Thomas High.

Mm-hmm.
Harold Thomas High.

Hear hear.
Naw.

Most of these young teachers,
they don't know anything about that strike.

They just take their equal paycheck for
granted. Harold, you're full of excuses.

There's ain't no point in you waiting
for the world to thank you, Harold.

That bus ain't never gonna come.
Mother: Amen to that.

Harold:
I'm not waiting, Pop.

I'm just looking
for something that excites me

as much as hammering nails
pleases you.

Hey, Viv,
"Jeopardy" is on.

I'll be in
in a minute.

You okay?

I'm fine.

Stomach's bothering me
a little bit,

but I'm fine.

Why don't you take one
of them fancy antacid pills

you always brag about?

It's your brother?

I miss him.

I miss the old Harold.

He seems a little
lost now.

I miss you.

Still got my mind
in that lab.

It's not just your mind, Viv.
It's your heart too.

I don't know what
I'm supposed to do, Clara.

I think I've embarrassed
myself enough.

I can't go back in there
with my tail between my legs.

It's where you belong,
Vivien Thomas.

So how you walk
back on in there, well...

that's up to you.

Dr. Blalock: Yes.

Vivien.

Doctor.

Good morning.

How was your trip
to Europe?

Well, it was
very gratifying.

The entire world seems
to have stood on its feet

for this moment
in time.

What can I do
for you, Vivien?

I've made a mistake,

and I would like

my old position back.

Well, and how's it
gonna be any different?

I'm still the same
self-righteous bastard.

It's not about you.

It's about the work.

I like the work.

♪ God knows when,
but you're doing it again ♪

♪ You better duck
down the alleyway ♪

♪ Looking for a new friend ♪

♪ The man in the coonskin cap
in a pig pen ♪

♪ Wants 11 dollar bills,
but you only got 10 ♪

♪ Maggie comes fleet foot,
face full of black soot ♪

♪ Talking that the heat
put plants in the bed ♪

♪ But the phone's tapped anyway,
Maggie says that many say ♪

♪ They must bust in early May,
orders from the DA ♪

♪ Look out, kid,
don't matter what you did ♪

♪ Walk on your tiptoes,
don't tie no bows ♪

♪ Better stay away from those
that carry around a fire hose ♪

♪ Keep a clean nose
and watch the plainclothes ♪

♪ You don't need a weatherman to
know which way the wind blows ♪

♪ Ah, get sick, get well,
hang around the ink well ♪

♪ Hang a bell,
hard to tell if anything is going to sell ♪

♪ Try hard, get barred,
get back, write Braille... ♪

Man: Mr. Thomas,
we've got an animal going into shock here,

What do we do, sir?

Did you try clamping off

the lateral part of the atrium?
You got 'em. All right.

Hold it right there.
Okay. Yeah.

Good. Okay.

Look there.
You handled yourself well there, Doctor.

That's good.
Thank you.

This is...

There was a message
for you, Mr. Thomas.

Dr. Blalock
wanted to see you.

I'm sorry. Would you
tell him I'll see him...

He's about
to leave for the day.

Honey, I have
to call you back.

Okay.

How's your girls?

Oh, they're fine.
They're doing well.

Theo's in
Morgan State now.

Oh, that must feel good.
Yes. Yes.

How are things
with you?

Well, you know,

I've had the unfortunate
experience of being

put in the hands of surgeons.
Hmm.

You have something
on your mind, Doctor?

Yes, Columbia's been
dangling an offer to teach.

But I wanted
to talk to you first.

I really would like you to come with me,
Vivien. They know about your work.

You could write
your own ticket.

It's hard to imagine
being there without you.

Well, I thank you
for thinking of me, Doctor.

But I think I should stay here.

We could do
great things there.

Wouldn't it be fun
to do it one more time?

One more time.

Hmm.

I like what I'm doing.

Teaching,
helping people along.

Working with
the young doctors.

I like it here at Hopkins.

Yeah, I...

I guess you got your own
things going on here now.

I recognize this man.

That man looks very
distinguished up there.

Well, thank you, Vivien.

That was a while ago.
Yeah.

I'm feeling
the years now.

Hmm, yes yes.

We all are now.

You know, Vivien...

they say you
haven't really lived

unless you have
a lot to regret.

I regret...

I have some regrets.

But I think we should
remember not what we lost...

but what we've done.

All the lives we saved
and we did.

We saved plenty,
didn't we, Vivien?

Yes, we did.

No.

Vivien, it's Helen.

I'm sorry to tell you that

Dr. Blalock passed away
in his sleep last night.

We see death every day.

It doesn't make it
any easier, does it?

I'm very sorry.

Today, we honor someone

who never took a course
in medical school,

and still

became one of our greatest
teachers of medicine.

This individual helped
change the way we understand

how the human heart
works forever.

And now I'm honored
to read,

"The Board of Regents of this,
the Johns Hopkins University,

in consideration
of an innovative scientist,

an outstanding teacher,

and a skilled
clinical technician,

has this day awarded

this honorary doctorate

to Mr. Vivien Thomas."

Congratulations,
Dr. Thomas.

Thank you, Dr. Taussig.

I'm not accustomed
to being in the limelight.

So being placed
in the position

I find myself in now

makes me quite humble

and a little proud.

When I put my hammer
and saw down

40 years ago

and was offered
an opportunity

to work
with a young surgeon,

I had no idea

that I'd be able
to make a mark

on an institution
as prestigious as this one.

I had no idea that I...

would have any contribution

to make to medicine
that would merit

this type
of recognition.

I simply say thank you

to all of my family,

and all of my friends
who are here,

and to all of my friends

who could not be here.

I thank you very much.
Thank you.

This is also
a special occasion

to mark the unveiling
of your likeness, Vivien.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Woman over P.A.:
Paging Dr. Thomas.

Dr. Vivien Thomas
to the boardroom, please.

Dr. Thomas.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪