Dope Arabs: Remembering Michael Ellis DeBakey (September 7, 1908 – July 11, 2008)
Born to Lebanese Maronite parents, this second generation Arab American, nee Michel Dabaghi, is perhaps best known for his innovative contributions to the medical community, like bypass surgery and the introduction of around 70 medical devices and instruments.
Dying this past Friday at age 99, DeBakey outlived two of his sons. A colleague at Baylor, Dr. William T. Butler, called the near-centenarian, “maestro of cardiovascular surgery” in regards to his visionary actions and ideas in the medical field.
At age 23, while still in medical school, he invented the roller pump (back in 1932 folks!).
AND, he was primarily responsible for the success of a beloved American dramedy series: MASH
His revolutionary medical tactics during his service in WWII resulted in the development of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, MASH, which he was awarded a Legion of Merit in 1945 for developing.
In the decades that followed, he was appointed president of Baylor College (1969), presented the Medal of Freedom with Distinction (1969), inducted into the Healthcare Hall of Fame (1996), received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the UN in 1999, in 2000 he was both cited as a Living Legend by U.S. Library of Congress and named honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
And the honors even continued on to this year. Last April DeBakey received the Congressional Gold Medal from George W. Bush. As my father pointed out, there was no mention of his ethnic background, but as soon as the acclaimed heart surgeon hit the stage, the first words of his mouth were “Being born to Lebanese parents…”
This man’s list of accomplishments is too long for any sort of obituary to do justice-the man not only lived close to a century, but he cultivated every minute of it by giving back. From treatment of “penniless peasants from the Third World to famous figures,” (the likes of JFK, King Hussein, Nixon, Boris Yeltsin, etc) for DeBakey, the heart of the matter meant treating the heart, regardless of bank account size of the person attached to that heart.
