"An army clad in blue  scrubs filled the large fluorescent lit room. Its white walls and ceiling made  it seem even brighter, like heaven. Despite the number of people purposefully going about their business it was eerily quiet. If not for the pumping sound of  the bypass machine and the rhythmic beeps from the multiple monitors you could 
almost hear everyone’s heartbeat. As they carried out their own tasks the focus was still on the man hovering over the lifeless 7-pound body on the operating 
 table. He was like god in that room. The slightest movement, twitch of the face or word that left him had immediate attention from those around him. He had
full  command and respect, and rightfully so. He was a pediatric cardiovascular surgeon and considered one of the best in the field.

The microwave sized black box next to the operating table kept the baby alive and surgeon depended on its guaranteed function. If it failed, everything failed, including the baby. The tiny body had  been cooled from a normal 38 Celsius to 28 Celsius using medication and ice. The  heart was quiet and cold. The baby’s arms were stretched out to the sides like  Jesus on the cross and his body was draped in blue surgical covering. Only his  peaceful face and a small opening in his chest, the size of
an orange, were  exposed. The baby was technically dead. His state of being was necessary in  order to give him life. Life that only the man, who was now a step
below the  ultimate Giver, could grant. The man had performed hundreds of these surgeries,  an impressive resume, but each case was unique and brought its
surprises. He did  not know what he was going to find deep in the center of the body until he had  made a midline incision, broken the sternum, cut through the
multiple layers of  tissue and muscle to finally reach the most important of organs, the heart.

The man’s eyes were strained from not blinking  for so long and he had an itch on the right side of his nose which he tried to  relieve with a small facial wiggle. Except for his
swiftly but steadily moving  hands he remained completely still. The room was kept cool in the low 60s but a  sweat pearl still rolled down his temple along
the tightly covered head piece.  Fog had built up inside his left eyeglass. As he held the tweezers, which was  attached to the too-small-to-see needle in a
firm grip and was ready to insert  its sharp point into the last place along the patch, he raised his head toward  the ceiling, closed his eyes for relief and
absorbed the last bit of energy to  finish mending this part of the infant’s broken  heart.

The man gently poked and probed along  the septum wall to see if there were any other apparent holes. He spotted a  small one, about 2 mm in size, low and deep, creating another opening between the right and left chambers of the tiny heart.  He decided to leave it alone. It  was too risky to go down there with a needle among all those invisible
conduction systems buried in the heart muscle. He would do far more damage than the small hole would ever pose. His eyes left the defeated battleground and 
moved up to locate the atrial septum defect, another hole to close. He stretched  out his right hand and the cold needle holder was placed in this cupped palm. He  began sewing directly into the lifeless, and by now almost white tissue and  muscle. Once finished, he had two minutes to spare before the bypass machine  would begin to present problems for the baby. Lack of oxygen to the brain,  causing permanent brain damage, being the most severe. He signaled his team they  were closing up the heart.  The long chest incision was glued shut needing no  stitches. The re-warming of the patient’s body began by covering him in warm  thick cotton blankets. The baby regained perfect sinus rhythm and a clear tube  was inserted into his mouth, through the trachea and into the lungs. He was now  intubated and the baby was ready to be weaned from the bypass machine. It went  without difficulty.

The man motioned to oneof the nurses and she quickly left the room. She thought this was the best part of surgery, being able to deliver good news to the parents. Her chestnut colored hair swayed back and forth as she hurried down the hallway to deliver a long awaited message."