The Hand That Touched The World
- October 15, 2008 at 8:07 AM by FaeryDreamer
- 64 Comment(s)
- 2013 Total Views
This picture of 21-week old Samuel Armus reaching up through an incision in its mother's uterus to grab the finger of the surgeon who had just performed a life-saving procedure. It should be "The Picture of the Year," or perhaps, "The Picture of the Decade."
The 21-week-old unborn baby is named Samuel Alexander Armas, and is being operated on by a surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from the 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. In the procedure, a C-section removes the uterus and the doctor makes a small incision to operate on the baby.
During the surgery on little Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed, hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity.
"The tiny hand of 21-week old 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."
This picture should be shown on every television newscast and run in every newspaper in America. It is a graphic reminder that growing in the womb of his or her mother is a baby. It is not a "glob of tissue," or "product of conception." That pre-born baby is a human being with all the emotions, will and personality of any human being. This picture says it in a way that a thousand words cannot.
Little Samuel Armus's mother said they "wept for days" when they saw the picture taken by Michael Clancy. She said, "The photo reminds us my pregnancy isn't about disability or illness, it's about a little person." That's what it's always been about. That's what the liberal elite tried to get us to forget. May this image jog our memories so that we will never forget. The surgery was successful and little Samuel Armas was born on December 2, 1999, and has been developing well, according to his parents, Alex and Julie Armas.
- Written by FaeryDreamer on October 15, 2008 at 8:07 AM
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Comments:
I VOTED THIS POPULAR. WHAT A SWEET STORY...
THANKS FOR POSTING..
-SARAH-
That is just amazing! Thank you for this wonderful post!
AWESOME STORY AND PHOTO!!!!
Great post!
that was sad but yet he was a miracle baby that is amazing that he is alive and healthy
I love this story. I get goosebumps every time I see it, and bawled like a little girl when I was pregnant and pictured dd reaching her hand through my belly to hold my hand. What a beautiful experience that must have been. We have dr's doing everything they can do to save children before they are even born, and then we have dr's doing everything they can to kill a child if it isn't past a certain week of the pregnancy. My mom miscarried five times, once at 23 weeks and six days, because she and I have a rare blood disorder that is activated after a first pregnancy. the disorder causes you to have thick blood which knocks the placenta loose. The dr's could've saved all five of her babies if they had just given her Hepharin when she first got pregnant, but they refused to do that, or even give her aid when she was at risk of miscarrying because she wasn't a good candidate(ie, her insurance only paid the minimum for it, not the cost the dr's wanted) We need to change the law that says when life begins and realize it begins at conception. This isn't about abortion, this is about saving children who are loved and wanted but because of medical laws, they die, and because dr's don't want to help, they die. Children die because someone doesn't want to risk the chance that abortion may be banned. Well, buddy, adoption IS an option, abortion is not BC and is used as such. Jerks...
There's a big billboard on the highway that has a picture of a baby and reads: "Take my hand, not my life". This story reminds me of that. Thanks for sharing! :o)
AWESOME! Thanks.
Love this story!! Thanks for posting it! BUMP
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I've always loved this story, it's so inspiring! Voted this popular!
godzgirl21 Oct. 15, 2008 at 8:09 AM