On my City Bus tour on Sunday I learned about the Heart of Cape Town museum at the Groote Schuur Hospital where Christiaan Barnard performed the first heart transplant. They said they offered free shuttles from hotels, but when the Hilton called for me, she said the shuttle was in the shop. 100 Rand sounded like a lot for a taxi, so I decided to use my Citi Bus pass. It worked out fine. I had a 10 min or so walk to the hospital and wanted to make sure I got there in time for the 11 am tour, so I hopped on one of the vans that go up and down the main drag. In Zimbabwe, people are hanging out the windows, but this one was quite civilized- similar to Turkey.
The tour was great. The tour guide kept saying she was so proud of her country and that Barnard beat the Americans. He had trained at U of MN- he got his PhD there in 2 years + a Masters. What catapulted him was that he found a loop hole in the S.A. law on the definition of dead. Previously and in America and everywhere else, the doctors had to wait for the heart to stop. As soon as it does, the heart is damaged so there is a greater possibility of failure. Barnard realized that they could declare a person dead when s/he is brain dead. That is what happened with his first operation. A 23 yr old woman was killed in a car accident- right in front of the hospital. 5 months earlier they had already selected the patient- he was terminally ill. He was a Jewish man in his 50s. If you all remember, he lived 18 days after the operation. Turns out they had 2 hearts earlier, but those came from black men. Barnard came from a liberal family and he thought it was ridiculous to consider race. But the head of the hospital said they needed to think how it would look in apartheid SA to take a heart from a black and put it in a white person's body. The young woman and the recipient were a good match, but her heart was small for his body.
We toured the original operating rooms. Also learned that Barnard and his brother didn't get a lot of funding for his work, as they were researching the procedures on dogs. They trained a black man who had been taking care of the animals. He was so adept he also learned to do liver transplants. He was a high school drop out who later received an honorary degree.
We saw a couple of films. The guide did not gloss over the fact that he was a womanizer- got divorced 3 times- had 6 children- died a lonely man at 78- alone in Cyprus. But, he had guts and that was why he moved forward and took chances.
Toured the Castle of Good Hope in the afternoon. Lots of construction going on as they prepare for the 350th anniversary of the castle. The weather changed so many times during the day. A bit of drizzle, Table MT was in the clouds, but then the clouds cleared and the sun came out. Used the Time Out guidebook which was in my place to see some architecturally significant buildings. Really the city is quickly becoming a sea of skyscrapers. Found a new Nelson Mandela museum that I will visit tomorrow. Went to the Grand Daddy hotel to check out the Airstream Penthouse Trailer park. What a hoot! On the 3rd floor roof deck there are 5 Airstreams along with a rooftop bar and seating in the center. Each trailer has a little seating area. In the trailer is a double bed, with mounted TV. There a fridge and coffee service. The bathroom is tiny- I think the shower would get the toilet seat wet! One is even smaller, so the bathroom is outside the trailer- in an enclosed area with a bigger shower! The owners sold this place and moved outside of Cape Town where they set up trailers on a terraced hillside in wine country...something to check out for your next vacation!
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