On April 23, 2008, Dr. Michael DeBakey received the Congressional Gold Medal for his legacy in heart surgery. His pioneering work led to the first successful coronary bypass surgery in 1964. He has operated on more than 60,000 people. Dr. DeBakey has helped many sick people recover from their sicknesses and return to their normal routines.
I heard of a man who said, “People are always calling me a hypochondriac, and let me tell you something—it just makes me sick.” I recently read a statistic that is perhaps related. One researcher said that what the average patient wants is not a doctor but an audience.
At the risk of illustrating the truth of those statements, let me tell you about my sickness and how my life intersected that of Dr. DeBakey. Circulation problems in the veins of our legs is an old and honored weakness in my family on my mother’s side. In 1966, when I was 21 and quite sure that I had no health problems at all, I developed some soreness in my leg. I ignored it and kept walking on it. Several days later while I was swimming I suddenly could not breathe. I got out of the water and passed out on the bank. They rushed me to the hospital and discovered that a blood clot had gone from my leg to my lungs. I survived the clot but then developed in my leg full-blown phlebitis that would not clear up.
My local doctor told me that Dr. DeBakey was doing more with circulatory problems than anyone in the country, and he wanted me to go see him at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. I agreed to do so, and my older brother carried my mother and me to Houston.
I was pretty depressed about having such a major illness at such an early age. I wondered what kind of future awaited me. After I had been in the hospital for a few days, Dr. DeBakey showed up in my room. I was not surprised when he came in because I had heard him coming—at least I had heard him and the dozen residents that were hovering around him coming. As I lay in bed with Dr. DeBakey and a dozen residents looking me over, I felt, to put it mildly, a little ill-at-ease. He assured me that I had no major problems that blood thinners and bed rest wouldn’t cure. He patted my sore leg and then was gone. My leg felt better immediately and my attitude improved even more.
Dr. DeBakey is now 99 years old. When President Bush presented him the Congressional Gold Medal back in April, President Bush said, “His legacy is grandparents who lived to see their grandchildren.” I haven’t lived that long yet, but I have lived a full and active life in the 40+ years since Dr. DeBakey patted me on the leg. He is a great physician, and I will always be grateful for his help at a low point in my life.
I am even more grateful for the touch of the Great Physician on my life. He has blessed me with life beyond measure and is worthy of more than medals. He is worthy of constant worship and total devotion.
