The document summarizes the story of Vivien Thomas, an African American man who lost his savings during the Great Depression and was no longer able to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. He found work as a lab assistant to Dr. Blalock at Vanderbilt University. Through their collaboration, Thomas helped develop a new surgical procedure for treating "blue baby syndrome" that saved over 1000 infants. Despite his significant scientific contributions, as an African American at the time, Thomas did not receive proper credit or recognition for his work.