Hotmail
Messenger
My MSN
MSN Directory
Blind medical student earns M.D.
'Things are only impossible until they’re done'
 | First-year medical student Tim Cordes listens as second-year student Megan Neuman describes the nerves and tissues of a human shoulder during anatomy class at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998. In December, Cordes, who is blind, graduated near the top of his class. |
Beth A. Keiser / AP |
MADISON, Wis. - The young medical student was nervous as he slid the soft, thin tube down into the patient’s windpipe. It was a delicate maneuver — and he knew he had to get it right.
Tim Cordes leaned over the patient as his professor and a team of others closely monitored his every step. Carefully, he positioned the tube, waiting for the special signal that oxygen was flowing.
The anesthesia machine was set to emit musical tones to confirm the tube was in the trachea and carbon dioxide was present. Soon, Cordes heard the sounds. He double-checked with a stethoscope. All was OK. He had completed the intubation.
Several times over two weeks, Cordes performed this difficult task at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. His professor, Dr. George Arndt, marveled at his student’s skills.
“He was 100 percent,” the doctor says. “He did it better than the people who could see.”
Tim Cordes is blind.
He has mastered much in his 28 years: Jujitsu. Biochemistry. Water-skiing. Musical composition. Any one of these accomplishments would be impressive. Together, they’re dazzling. And now, there’s more luster for his gold-plated resume with a new title: Doctor.
Cordes has earned his M.D.
Many barriers to overcome
In a world where skeptics always seem to be saying, stop, this isn’t something a blind person should be doing, it was one more barrier overcome. There are only a handful of blind doctors in this country. But Cordes makes it clear he could not have joined this elite club alone.
“I signed on with a bunch of real team players who decided that things are only impossible until they’re done,” he says.
That’s modesty speaking. Cordes finished medical school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the top sixth of his class (he received just one B), earning honors, accolades and admirers along the way.
 |
Andy Manis / AP Tim Cordes walks with his German shepherd guide dog, Vance, and his fiancee, Blue-leaf Hannah, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in March. |
Without sight, Cordes had to learn how to identify clusters of spaghetti-thin nerves and vessels in cadavers, study X-rays, read EKGs and patient charts, examine slides showing slices of the brain, diagnose rashes — and more.
He used a variety of special tools, including raised line drawings, a computer that simultaneously reads into his earpiece whatever he types, a visual describer, a portable printer that allowed him to write notes for patient charts, and a device called an Optacon that has a small camera with vibrating pins that help his fingers feel images.
“It was kind of whatever worked,” Cordes says. “Sometimes you can psych yourself out and anticipate problems that don’t materialize. ... You can sit there and plan for every contingency or you just go out and do things. ... That was the best way.”
That’s been his philosophy much of his life. Cordes was just 5 months old when he was diagnosed with Leber’s disease. He wore glasses by age 2, and gradually lost his sight. At age 16, when his peers were getting their car keys, he took his first steps with a guide dog.
Still, blindness didn’t stop him.
He wrestled and earned a black belt in tae kwon do and jujitsu. An academic whiz, he graduated as valedictorian at the University of Notre Dame as a crowd of 10,000 gave him a standing ovation.
| Rate this story | Low | High |
MORE FROM MORE HEALTH NEWS |
 More Health News Section Front |
| Add More Health News headlines to your news reader: |
Sponsored links
Resource guide