baby matthew | columbia missourian | 1980

Matthew was 18 months old and very sick. Doctors knew his heart defect required surgery. The question was when. This photo was taken the morning of the heart catheterization test that would answer that question. His doctor delicately threaded a catheter through a vein in Matthew's leg, up and into his heart. Radio-active dye was then squirted from the tip of the catheter while a special camera recorded the pumping action of Matthew's heart on highspeed film. The result? The surgery could wait 18 months until Matthew was stronger.