[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17111-17112]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       TRIBUTE TO CAROL COTTRILL, TINA SLUSHER, AND ROBERT SALLEY

 Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
three of Kentucky's finest physicians. Drs. Carol Cottrill, Tina 
Slusher, and Robert Salley are exemplars in the field of medicine 
because they spend several months of each year providing medical care 
to children in developing and underprivileged countries.
  Drs. Cottrill, Slusher, and Salley performed an implantation of a new 
mechanical heart valve for a young girl from the village of Eku, 
Nigeria. Dr. Slusher first examined Sussana Olesenekwu in a 168-bed 
Baptist hospital near her village in Nigeria. Upon realizing the 
gravity of Olesenekwu's heart condition, Dr. Slusher worked with 
urgency to find a U.S. hospital and surgeon willing to do the surgery 
quickly and for free. Dr. Cottrill, a children's heart specialist, and 
Dr. Salley, a heart surgeon, joined Dr.

[[Page 17112]]

Slusher in donating their time and skill to perform a surgery largely 
unavailable in Nigeria. Dr. Cottrill is even allowing Olesenekwu to 
recover in her home. Aided by Medtronic, which contributed the 
mechanical heart valve, and St. Joseph's Hospital, which incurred the 
remaining costs, these exceptional doctors saved Olesenekwu's life.
  Open-heart surgery is almost nonexistent in Nigeria. Though the 
country has a population of approximately 130 million, it has just one 
facility that performs only a few surgeries each year. In Nigeria the 
surgery would cost $3,000 to $4,000, and most families earn less than 
$10.00 a week. Drs. Cottrill, Slusher, and Salley's altruistic and 
selfless donations of time and skill are unparalleled.
  Drs. Cottrill and Salley both live and practice in Lexington, KY, and 
Dr. Slusher is a native of Bell County, KY. Their commitment to 
improving the lives of those less fortunate are an inspiration to many. 
Their contributions have truly made the world a better place. Drs. 
Cottrill, Slusher, and Salley are tributes to Kentucky. They are 
Kentucky at its finest. I thank the Senate for allowing me to recognize 
Dr. Carol Cottrill, Dr. Tina Slusher, and Dr. Robert Salley and voice 
their praises.

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