There is so much bad news reported these days that it was refreshing to read about a true hero in the Oct. 5 Morning Sentinel (“U.S. Mint likely to put Lewiston’s Bernard Lown on a dollar coin in 2024“).
Bernard Lown, M.D., came to the United States at 14 and unable to speak English and is now being awarded with a commemorative dollar coin in his honor.
Three years after arriving in the U.S., Lown was enrolled in the honors program at the University of Maine. Later, he graduated as a cardiologist from Johns Hopkins Medical School. In 1962, he invented the direct-current defibrillator, saving thousands of lives. As a cardiologist, he knew he was financially set and gave his invention to humanity for free. He cared more for people than profit.
He also developed the drug lidocaine, used to control heartbeat fluctuations. As late as 1985, he shared a Nobel Prize for creating a group called “International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.”
Bernard Lown dedicated his whole life to make the world a better place for everyone. To serve humanity was the only reward he sought. This world could sure use many more true heroes like him.
Peter P. Sirois
Madison
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