From humble beginnings as a `barefoot boy' in a small town in the
heart of South Africa, he learned to mix with presidents and prime
ministers, with royalty and popes, and quickly embraced the
high-life of the jet-set who surrounded him. Throughout life, he
was a serial womanizer, bedding famous European film stars (and
their secretaries). He survived three tempestuous marriages and
divorces, each wife becoming younger than the last until their age
difference reached 40 years. This scientifically-trained surgeon
called on the services of a `witchdoctor' (a
sangoma)-unsuccessfully-to help punish those who had contributed to
the break-up of his second marriage. With no experience himself, he
trained his daughter to become the second-ranked water skier in the
world, though he was disappointed she never became world champion.
Perhaps the immense effort he put into driving her to success
accounted for the relative neglect of his oldest son, who, as a
young doctor, suffered increasing depression until he died of a
drug overdose at an early age. The surgeon pursued his goals in
heart surgery despite a lifetime of pain from arthritis and a
disability from asthma, which might eventually have killed him.
Having established the first major heart surgery programme in
Africa, he eventually became distracted by other interests until he
was a mere shadow in his own department. Yet he remained in the
public eye through his gifts for public speaking and as a writer.
He travelled the world, published two autobiographies, wrote
popular books on health for the public, particularly relating to
heart disease and arthritis, and penned books on such varied
subjects as the politics of apartheid in his homeland, and
euthanasia. He became a well-regarded and popular columnist for
several South African newspapers, and collaborated on the writing
of four novels. He branched into the business world and expanded
the meagre financial rewards earned from his surgical services to
the South African health care system by investing in restaurants in
Cape Town, establishing a game reserve in the hinterland of South
Africa, and causing controversy by his role in advertising a cream
that reputedly prevented wrinkling of the skin. He set up a heart
research foundation and a foundation that paid for children from
all over the world to travel to Cape Town for corrective open heart
surgery. This charismatic and controversial man was Chris Barnard
who, by the way, also dared to carry out the world's first human
heart transplant in December 1967. Can we summarize Chris Barnard?
Not very easily. He was a first-class doctor-skilled,
knowledgeable, compassionate, conscientious, concerned, decisive,
and wise. He was an inquiring and innovative surgeon-though
famously irascible in the operating room-with a vision of the
future developments in his chosen field, and the ability, judgment,
and courage to play a part in contributing to those developments.
He was an informative and highly entertaining speaker and
raconteur, a gifted writer, farmer, restaurateur, an unofficial
ambassador for his country-and a good friend.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
