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我的伊迪丝姨妈是个寡妇，做秘书工作。50岁那年，医生发现她得了一种在当时认为是非常严重的心脏病。
伊迪丝姨妈没有轻易认输，她开始在图书馆钻研医学报告，并在一本杂志上看到一篇介绍得克萨斯州休斯敦市著名心脏外科医生迈克尔·德巴基博士的文章。他曾经挽救过某个患同样疾病的人的生命。文章说德巴基博士的收费很高，伊迪丝姨妈绝对付不起这笔钱。可是他能不能给她介绍一个她付得起费的医生呢？
于是，伊迪丝姨妈给他写了一封信，她只是罗列了希望活下去的理由：她有三个孩子，他们在三四年之后才可以自立，她少女时代就怀有的周游世界的梦想———没有一句自怜的话语，只有热情、幽默以及活着的欢欣。她寄出了这封信，并没有指望得到回复。
几天之后，我的门铃响了起来。伊迪丝姨妈没等我让就进来了，在门厅里大声念道：“你美妙的来信深深地打动了我。如果你能来休斯敦，住院费及手术费全免。签名———迈克尔·德巴基。”
那已是七年前的事儿了。自那以后，伊迪丝姨妈周游了世界；她的三个孩子幸福地结了婚。就她的年龄而论，她是我所认识的最年轻、最有活力的人———这一切都缘于一位打开病人心脏的外科医生。他知道如何敬业，并知道如何敞开自己的心扉。
摘自 Starry English
My aunt Edith was a widow of 50, working as a secretary, when doctors discovered what was then thought to be a very serious heart disease.
Aunt Edith doesn’t accept defeat easily. She began studying medical reports in the library and found an article in a magazine about a well-known heart surgeon1, Dr Michael Debakey, ofHouston, Texas. He had saved the life of someone with the same disease. The article said Dr Debakey’s fees were very high; Aunt Edith couldn’t pos－sibly pay them. But could he tell her of someone whose fee she could pay?
So Aunt Edith wrote to him. She simply listed her reasons for wanting to live: her three children, who would be on their own in three or four more years, andher little-girl dream of traveling and seeing the world. There wasn’t a word of self－pity—only warmth and humor and the joy of living. She mailed the let－ter, not really expecting an answer.
A few days later, my doorbell rang. Aunt Edith didn’t wait to come in; She stood in the hall and read aloud,“Your beautiful letter moved me very deeply. If you can come to Houston, there will be no charge for either the hospital or the operation. Signed—Michael Debakey.”
That was seven years ago. Since then, Aunt Edith has been around the world. Her three children are happily married. For her age, she is one of the youngest, most alive people I know—all because of an open heart surgeon who knew how to honor his profession2, and how to open his own heart.
伊迪丝姨妈没有轻易认输，她开始在图书馆钻研医学报告，并在一本杂志上看到一篇介绍得克萨斯州休斯敦市著名心脏外科医生迈克尔·德巴基博士的文章。他曾经挽救过某个患同样疾病的人的生命。文章说德巴基博士的收费很高，伊迪丝姨妈绝对付不起这笔钱。可是他能不能给她介绍一个她付得起费的医生呢？
于是，伊迪丝姨妈给他写了一封信，她只是罗列了希望活下去的理由：她有三个孩子，他们在三四年之后才可以自立，她少女时代就怀有的周游世界的梦想———没有一句自怜的话语，只有热情、幽默以及活着的欢欣。她寄出了这封信，并没有指望得到回复。
几天之后，我的门铃响了起来。伊迪丝姨妈没等我让就进来了，在门厅里大声念道：“你美妙的来信深深地打动了我。如果你能来休斯敦，住院费及手术费全免。签名———迈克尔·德巴基。”
那已是七年前的事儿了。自那以后，伊迪丝姨妈周游了世界；她的三个孩子幸福地结了婚。就她的年龄而论，她是我所认识的最年轻、最有活力的人———这一切都缘于一位打开病人心脏的外科医生。他知道如何敬业，并知道如何敞开自己的心扉。
摘自 Starry English
My aunt Edith was a widow of 50, working as a secretary, when doctors discovered what was then thought to be a very serious heart disease.
Aunt Edith doesn’t accept defeat easily. She began studying medical reports in the library and found an article in a magazine about a well-known heart surgeon1, Dr Michael Debakey, ofHouston, Texas. He had saved the life of someone with the same disease. The article said Dr Debakey’s fees were very high; Aunt Edith couldn’t pos－sibly pay them. But could he tell her of someone whose fee she could pay?
So Aunt Edith wrote to him. She simply listed her reasons for wanting to live: her three children, who would be on their own in three or four more years, andher little-girl dream of traveling and seeing the world. There wasn’t a word of self－pity—only warmth and humor and the joy of living. She mailed the let－ter, not really expecting an answer.
A few days later, my doorbell rang. Aunt Edith didn’t wait to come in; She stood in the hall and read aloud,“Your beautiful letter moved me very deeply. If you can come to Houston, there will be no charge for either the hospital or the operation. Signed—Michael Debakey.”
That was seven years ago. Since then, Aunt Edith has been around the world. Her three children are happily married. For her age, she is one of the youngest, most alive people I know—all because of an open heart surgeon who knew how to honor his profession2, and how to open his own heart.