The Reality Reports

The Old Belief: Babies Couldn’t Feel Pain For much of the 20th century, doctors around the world believed that newborn babies could not feel pain.  This idea was based on the thought that a baby’s brain and nervous system were not developed enough to experience pain like older children or adults.  Many experts thought that when babies cried during medical procedures, it was just a reflex, not a real response to pain.  Because of this, doctors often performed surgeries and other painful procedures on infants with little or no anesthesia.

The Origins Of Lyme Disease :  Lyme disease was first identified in 1975 in the small town of Lyme, Connecticut, after an unusual outbreak of arthritis like symptoms among children and adults.  Two mothers, Polly Murray and Judith Mensch, noticed these symptoms in their children and pushed for further investigation.  Their efforts led to a collaboration between the Connecticut Department of Health and Yale University.  This marked the beginning of research into what was initially called "Lyme arthritis".

In 1964, a small hospital in Mississippi became the site of a medical milestone that would change the world forever.  Dr. James D. Hardy, a skilled surgeon, performed the first heart transplant surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.  This daring operation happened on January 23, long before most people could imagine replacing a human heart.  Though the patient did not survive long, this event paved the way for future successes in heart transplantation.  Today, thousands of lives are saved each year because of what began in that operating room.