“Blue baby syndrome” was the result of a heart condition known as tetralogy of Fallot that led to insufficient oxygen in the blood. Before late 1944, treatment was limited, and ultimately unsuccessful: children eventually died. Life-changing, lifesaving measures to treat blue baby syndrome were first realized at Johns Hopkins University in 1944 thanks to the work of three individuals. Dr. Helen Taussig was a compassionate care provider desperate to save her young patients. Dr. Alfred Blalock was a driven researcher and surgeon. Vivien Thomas’s official title was lab assistant to Blalock, but this brilliant African American technician was the one who developed and perfected the surgical procedures that would save children’s lives. Jim Murphy weaves together profiles of all three into the story of this breakthrough medical treatment. The sexism faced by Taussig as a woman in medicine is a topic of her story, while the racism faced by Thomas is a running theme throughout this account that ends describing the due recognition he eventually received. (Age 13 and older)

"Murphy’s dramatic nonfiction narrative recounting of one of the first open heart surgeries ever performed is not to be missed." —School Library Journal (starred review)

In 1944, a groundbreaking operation repaired the congenital heart defect known as blue baby syndrome. The operation’s success brought the surgeon Alfred Blalock international fame and paved the way for open-heart surgery. But the technique had been painstakingly developed by Vivien Thomas, Blalock’s African American lab assistant, who stood behind Blalock in the operating room to give him step-by-step instructions.

The stories of this medical and social breakthrough and the lives of Thomas, Blalock, and their colleague Dr. Helen Taussig are intertwined in this compelling nonfiction narrative.

Winner, Notable Books for a Global Society * Horn Book Fanfare List * A Booklist Best Young Adult Book