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Saturday, May 19, 2012

100,000 hearts

I checked the book out on a whim, not even thinking about the name that graced the cover. The only word that caught my eye was "surgery."

                                        
It's because I'm not sure that surgery is the career path that I will be taking that I am reading this book. I want to know what it is like to be a surgeon from a surgeon's perspective. Is it as exciting as TV? Is it as demanding as the blogs and forums seem to suggest? But most importantly, I want to know, what does it take to become a world-class surgeon? And no one is more qualified to answer these questions than Denton Cooley.

Cooley is pretty much THE surgeon in terms of the heart.

First heart transplant in the US? Check. 1968.

First ARTIFICIAL heart transplant? Check. 1969

And did I mention that he was also a basketball star in Texas? Some people (like Cooley) have the option of being either an NBA star or a world-renown famous.

There are more checks on this man's list of accomplishments than IRS checks in April. His name is literally displayed throughout the last 50 years of medicine. If you live in Texas, the Texas Heart Institute is his hospital. The man's existence changed the way heart surgeries were performed in the US.  Because of his and his colleagues, medicine has changed.

Check out this and all twelve other books to learn more about this AMAZING man. You'll find yourself impressed beyond words, but more importantly, SO much more eager to learn. Maybe you will be the next Cooley.

P.S. If you are reading this, Dr. Cooley, please advise on when you found the time to sleep. This seems to be the only issue you did not address.


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