42 Facts About Vivien Thomas

Vivien Thomas was the assistant to Blalock in Blalock's experimental animal laboratory at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and later at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Vivien Thomas writes in his autobiography, published shortly after his death, that he was born in Lake Providence, Louisiana, in 1910.

Vivien Thomas was born during the Jim Crow era, to Willard Maceo Vivien Thomas and the former Mary Alice Eaton.

Either way, the family did not stay in Louisiana for long, moving to Nashville, Tennessee, when Vivien Thomas was about two years old.

Vivien Thomas attended Pearl High School in Nashville in the 1920s, and graduated in 1929.

Vivien Thomas' father was a carpenter, and took pleasure in passing down his expertise to his sons.

Vivien Thomas worked with his father and brothers every day after school and on Saturdays, doing jobs such as measuring, sawing, and nailing.

Vivien Thomas had hoped to attend college and become a doctor, but the Great Depression derailed his plans.

Vivien Thomas intended to work hard, save money, and gain a higher education as soon as he could afford it.

On his first day of work, Vivien Thomas assisted Blalock with a surgical experiment on a dog.

Vivien Thomas was classified and paid as a janitor, despite the fact that by the mid-1930s, he was doing the work of a postdoctoral researcher in the lab.

Vivien Thomas struggled with finances despite saving most of what he earned.

Nashville's banks failed nine months after Vivien Thomas started his job with Blalock, and his savings were wiped out.

Vivien Thomas abandoned his plans for college and medical school, relieved to have even a low-paying job as the Great Depression deepened.

Vivien Thomas continued working with Blalock and saving his earnings, so that he could provide for his daughters and wife the best he could.

At this same time, Blalock and Vivien Thomas began experimental work in vascular and cardiac surgery, defying medical taboos against operating on the heart.

Vivien Thomas spent 11 years at Vanderbilt with Blalock before moving to Johns Hopkins.

When Vivien Thomas walked the halls in his white lab coat, many heads turned, and he began wearing city clothes when he walked from the laboratory to Blalock's office because he received so much attention.

Blalock and Vivien Thomas realized immediately that the answer lay in a procedure they had perfected for a different purpose in their Vanderbilt work, involving the anastomosis of the subclavian artery to the pulmonary artery, which had the effect of increasing blood flow to the lungs.

In nearly two years of laboratory work involving 200 dogs, Vivien Thomas was able to replicate two of the four cardiac anomalies involved in tetralogy of Fallot.

Vivien Thomas did demonstrate that the corrective procedure was not lethal, thus persuading Blalock that the operation could be safely attempted on a human patient.

Vivien Thomas could take only a few steps before beginning to breathe heavily.

Vivien Thomas had performed the operation hundreds of times on a dog, whereas Blalock had done so only once as Vivien Thomas' assistant.

Vivien Thomas' contribution remained unacknowledged, both by Blalock and by Johns Hopkins.

Vivien Thomas sometimes resorted to working as a bartender, often at Blalock's parties.

Mrs Vivien Thomas stated that in 1947 Vivien Thomas had investigated the possibility of enrolling in college and pursuing his dream of becoming a doctor, but had been deterred by the inflexibility of Morgan State University, which refused to grant him credit for life experience and insisted that he fulfill the standard freshman requirements.

Vivien Thomas felt nervous when he first met Dr Alfred Blalock because his friend Charles Manlove made it apparent that many people had a hard time working with Blalock.

However, Vivien Thomas found Blalock to be pleasant, relaxed, and informal during his interview, which provided excitement and comfort.

Vivien Thomas soon learned that Blalock moved quickly and expected his technicians to be just as efficient.

However, there were times when Blalock would lose his temper and use profanity; this often bothered Vivien Thomas and threatened their stable working relationship.

Blalock's approach to the issue of Vivien Thomas' race was complicated and contradictory throughout their 34-year partnership.

However, white men performing an equivalent of Vivien Thomas' job were paid an appreciable dollar more per hour.

Tension with Blalock continued to build when he failed to recognize the contributions that Vivien Thomas had made in the world-famous blue baby procedure, which led to a rift in their relationship.

Vivien Thomas was absent in official articles about the procedure, as well as in team pictures that included all of the doctors involved in the procedure.

Vivien Thomas was chosen as one of the four, along with Helen Taussig, Florence Sabin, and Daniel Nathans.

In 1971, Vivien Thomas was recognized for all his work "behind the scenes" with a ceremony and the presentation of his portrait to the medical institution.

Vivien Thomas stated that he lived in humble satisfaction that he was able to help solve some of the world's numerous health problems.

Vivien Thomas was overjoyed that he was finally getting recognition for his significant role in the research leading to developmental skills that many surgeons had begun to practice.

On July 1,1976, Vivien Thomas was appointed to the faculty as Instructor of Surgery; Vivien Thomas served in that capacity for three years and retired in 1979.

Vivien Thomas died of pancreatic cancer on November 26,1985.

Vivien Thomas was survived by his wife, Clara nee Flanders, their two daughters, and three granddaughters.

In 2004, Eaton, Vivien Thomas's nephew, estimated that he had signed five different deals over the years to allow film companies to tell his uncle's story.