I heard about this story on the radio today -- I'd never heard it before.
Amazing. So glad he survived.
One of the best singer/songwriters of the modern era.
www.cbsnews.com
In the early 1950s, most babies born with spina bifida did not live long.
But singer John Mellencamp survived after a pioneering operation.
In 1951, John Mellencamp was one of three babies with spina bifida at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.
"They did three operations," Mellencamp recalled. "One died on the table. Another girl lived, I think, 'til she was 14, and then she died. And then me."
Dr. Heimburger's highly risky procedure took 18 hours.
"They basically cut my head off from here to here, laid it open, cut that thing off then put all the nerves into my spine," Mellencamp said.
And because he was one of the first, the surgery didn't cost much either.
"He charged my parents $1," Mellencamp said. "I was a guinea pig."
Last month, at the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Mellencamp finally met Dr. Robert Heimburger, now 97, the neurosurgeon who performed the life-saving operation in 1951.
"He remembered it 'cause it was the first one they'd ever done," Mellencamp said.
Amazing. So glad he survived.
One of the best singer/songwriters of the modern era.
John Mellencamp meets doctor who saved his life
"It was really an epiphany moment for me," 62-year-old singer says about seeing pictures of his life-saving surgery for the first time
www.cbsnews.com
In the early 1950s, most babies born with spina bifida did not live long.
But singer John Mellencamp survived after a pioneering operation.
In 1951, John Mellencamp was one of three babies with spina bifida at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.
"They did three operations," Mellencamp recalled. "One died on the table. Another girl lived, I think, 'til she was 14, and then she died. And then me."
Dr. Heimburger's highly risky procedure took 18 hours.
"They basically cut my head off from here to here, laid it open, cut that thing off then put all the nerves into my spine," Mellencamp said.
And because he was one of the first, the surgery didn't cost much either.
"He charged my parents $1," Mellencamp said. "I was a guinea pig."
Last month, at the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Mellencamp finally met Dr. Robert Heimburger, now 97, the neurosurgeon who performed the life-saving operation in 1951.
"He remembered it 'cause it was the first one they'd ever done," Mellencamp said.
