By Hochberg                                           H.C.R. No. 41
         76R4163 MDM-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey has consistently focused
 1-2     worldwide attention on the State of Texas--and in particular on
 1-3     Baylor College of Medicine, The Methodist Hospital, and the Texas
 1-4     Medical Center in Houston--through his achievements as a premier
 1-5     surgeon, a gifted and dedicated teacher, a medical inventor, and an
 1-6     international medical statesman; and
 1-7           WHEREAS, Thousands of lives have been saved by this
 1-8     trailblazing physician through the surgeries he has performed and
 1-9     the  knowledge he has shared with medical students and physicians,
1-10     as well as by his innovative surgical techniques and his invention
1-11     of more than 50 surgical instruments; and
1-12           WHEREAS, A native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he was
1-13     born on September 7, 1908, Dr. DeBakey was a 23-year-old medical
1-14     student at the Tulane University School of Medicine when he
1-15     invented the roller pump, which later became an essential component
1-16     of the heart-lung machine, a device that made open-heart surgery
1-17     possible; and
1-18           WHEREAS, He volunteered for military service during World War
1-19     II and was stationed in Europe, achieving the rank of colonel in
1-20     the surgeon general's office; his recommendations were instrumental
1-21     in the development of mobile army surgical hospitals, or MASH
1-22     units; for his wartime contributions Dr. DeBakey was awarded the
1-23     Legion of Merit; and
1-24           WHEREAS, After completing his military service, this
 2-1     remarkable humanitarian recommended the creation of specialized
 2-2     medical centers throughout the United States to treat wounded
 2-3     military personnel, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center System
 2-4     was developed; in addition, as a member of the Hoover Commission
 2-5     and its task force on medical services, he initiated efforts that
 2-6     led to the creation of the National Library of Medicine; and
 2-7           WHEREAS, Already a noted physician, Dr. DeBakey came to Texas
 2-8     in 1948 to serve as chairman of surgery at Baylor College of
 2-9     Medicine in Houston; during the 1950s, he developed many of the
2-10     surgical procedures that are common today; and
2-11           WHEREAS, Using Dacron and his wife's sewing machine, Dr.
2-12     DeBakey made grafts and used them to repair aneurysms of the aorta;
2-13     he also performed the first operation to remove deposits from the
2-14     carotid artery in the neck, marking the first time that surgery
2-15     could be used to treat strokes; and
2-16           WHEREAS, In 1998, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey celebrated his 90th
2-17     birthday and his 50th year at Baylor College of Medicine and in
2-18     Texas; and
2-19           WHEREAS, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey has devoted his life to
2-20     sharing his knowledge, wisdom, and expertise to benefit humanity,
2-21     and in doing so he has saved thousands of lives and enhanced the
2-22     community, the state, and the world he lives in; now, therefore, be
2-23     it
2-24           RESOLVED, That it is indeed a privilege for the 76th
2-25     Legislature of the State of Texas to welcome Dr. Michael E. DeBakey
2-26     to the State Capitol on January 25, 1999; and, be it further
2-27           RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas pay
 3-1     tribute to this esteemed gentleman for his distinguished medical
 3-2     career and extend to him sincere best wishes for continued success
 3-3     and happiness in the years to come; and, be it further
 3-4           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
 3-5     prepared for Dr.  DeBakey as an expression of high regard by the
 3-6     Texas House of Representatives and Senate.