We can all look to Thomas and his power to focus on the positives and the kindness of others rather than allowing racism and fear weigh him down. With all of the obstacles that Vivien Thomas faced he could have been angry and bitter, but he paid forward the kindness that had been bestowed on him by helping countless other doctors. Thomas didn’t let it get to him, but rather, worked harder and wound up making major advances in surgery on pediatric heart patients known as blue babies. Young minds will be opened when the book moves from Nashville to Baltimore and Thomas struggles from more racism then he had faced before. There was kickback because he was black, and he would later discover that his official job title and pay were as a janitor rather than a medical research technician, but he also found kind mentors along the way who saw his amazing potential. The all white school would never have admitted him as a student, but he did manage to get the job. Fortunately, he was able to get a job with Dr. Thomas dreamed of being a doctor from a young age, but couldn’t afford medical school, especially after the stock market crash of 1929. Vivien Thomas grew up in Nashville in a time where African-Americans and whites were highly segregated. This book is special because it tells the important story of Vivien Thomas – both his amazing contribution to the medical world and the struggles that he had to face in being a black man who wanted to study medicine. Tiny Stitches is the compelling story of this incredible pioneer in medicine.Since being published in 2016, the book Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas, by Gwendolyn Hooks, has garnered a lot of praise. Overcoming racism and resistance from his colleagues, Vivien ushered in a new era of medicine-children's heart surgery. Vivien's name did not appear in the report.

Taussig announced their innovative new surgical technique, the Blalock-Taussig shunt. After months of experimenting, Vivien developed a procedure that was used for the first successful open-heart surgery on a child. Helen Taussig find a cure for children with a specific heart defect. Blalock's research assistant, Vivien learned surgical techniques.

Vivien knew that the all-white school would never admit him as a student, but he hoped working there meant he was getting closer to his dream.Īs Dr.

Then he heard about a job opening at the Vanderbilt University medical school under the supervision of Dr. But after the stock market crashed in 1929, Vivien lost all his savings. Vivien Thomas's greatest dream was to attend college to study medicine. The life story of Vivien Thomas, an African American surgical technician who developed the first procedure used to perform open-heart surgery on children. Top Ten Science and Health Books for Youth, Booklist Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Tiny Stitches by Gwendolyn Hooks