[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 145 (Thursday, October 16, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H9486]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE MIRACLE ON MOTOR STREET

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to talk about the 
miracle on Motor Street in Texas. There is a natural tension between 
competing constituencies in the arena of vying for Federal dollars.
  Funding for research for health care may at times intersect sharply 
with those dollars required for engineering research. But sometimes it 
all coalesces and condenses around a single event that serves to 
demonstrate the importance of collaboration.
  And we witnessed just such an event this weekend in north Texas with 
the apparent hugely successful separation of Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim.
  The intersection of mechanical engineering, bioengineering, 
pharmacology medicine, and surgery quietly and completely joined 
together to give these two otherwise healthy boys their best chance at 
a normal life.
  I have a new job now, one which deals more with policy than surgical 
skill. So how nice it was to stand with one foot in the political 
world, but one not too far removed from the medical world, and to 
vicariously savor the moment of triumph for, yes, our medical 
professionals and also for everyone who devotes a life to making things 
better for those around them.
  And everyone was involved at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, 
from the doctors, nurses, technicians, to the theoretical and practical 
professionals who developed the specialized OR table, monitors, and 
medicines.
  We are reminded of how sometimes, when we focus on the very big and 
noble causes, we are rewarded many times over.

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