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Saving a Life 50 Years Ago
Published: 7/13/2008 7:02 PM
Last Modified: 7/13/2008 7:02 PM

Dr. Michael DeBakey, who died recently, was once hailed by the Journal of the American Meidcal Association as "the greatest surgeon ever."
Dr. DeBakey saved my life in the summer of 1958.
He operated on a 4-year-boy from Perry, Okla. who was born with a small hole in the aorta of his heart.
He tried a new procedure, using a synthetic patch, to fix the aorta. The first one didn't work. A year later he repeated the procedure with a new material developed by DuPont scientists.
It worked. I know. That was 50 years ago.
I've played football, baseball, wrestled and chased sports all over the country during a 32-year career as a sports writer.
I once visited him as an adult, when I lived and worked in Houston.
He was a kind, wonderful person.
The reports on his death said he performed about 60,000 surgeries during his career.
I was one of them.
All I can say is what I told him that day in Houston when I met him as an adult. Thank you.

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LesGuvment (5 years ago)

Great story, John Klein. Thanks for sharing.

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Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

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Past Articles By John Klein

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1/31/2013		John Klein: Big 12 at peace in 10-team structure
1/21/2013		Classic still just 'catching fish'

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