was in November 2007 when the picture
of a 21-week-old unborn baby named
Samuel Alexander Armas, who was operated
on by surgeon names
Joseph Bruner started to circulate in
the US media.
Most people considered the picture as
'The Picture of the Year,' or perhaps,
'Picture of the Decade.’ In fact, unless
you obtained a copy of the US paper
which published it, you probably would
never have seen it.
The baby was diagnosed with spinal
bifida and would not survive if removed
from his mother's womb. Little Samuel's
mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics
nurse in Atlanta. She knew of Dr.
Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure.
Practicing at Vanderbilt University
Medical Center in Nashville, he performs
these special operations while the baby
is still in the womb.
During the procedure, the doctor removed
the uterus via C-section and made a
small incision to operate on the baby.
As Dr. Bruner completed
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The Hand of Hope emerges from the
womb and grabs the surgeon's funger |
the surgery on
Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny,
but fully developed hand through the
incision and firmly grasped the
surgeon's finger.
Dr. Bruner was reported as saying that
when his finger was grasped, it was the
most emotional moment of his life, and
that for an instant during the procedure
he was just frozen, totally immobile.
The photograph captures this amazing
event with perfect clarity. The editors
titled the picture, 'Hand of Hope.' The
text explaining the picture begins, 'The
tiny hand of 21-week- old fetus Samuel
Alexander Armas emerges from the
mother's uterus to grasp the finger of
Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the
doctor for the gift of life.'
Little Samuel's mother said they 'wept
for days' when they saw the picture. She
said, 'The photo reminds us pregnancy
isn't about disability or an illness,
it's about a little person.' Samuel was
born in perfect health, the operation
100 percent successful.
