By Bob Braddy
Some of the most memorable times of my life were awakened this week when I read the obituary of Dr. Harry Muller, who died in Richmond at the age of 92.
He was the son of Mr. W. H. Muller, an attorney whose office was where Mary Frances Hayes has her office now. He was a silent partner in the insurance agency Dad bought in 1942, which later became Braddy Insurance.
The obituary went into great detail about Harry’s accomplishments as a heart surgeon. He actually was recognized as the developer of open heart surgery while he was at The University of Virginia Hospital. This led to development by him of the pulmonary artery banding procedure for children with certain types of congenital heart disease. The obituary detailed the many accomplishments he had as a surgeon, and the many honors he received for his work.
It would be impossible to say how many lives he saved, not just with his own surgical procedures, but also with the use of his procedures by other surgeons in their treatments of heart patients.
My first acquaintance with Harry was at Camp Coker as a Boy Scout. It was my first time there. Harry, who had probably just completed his first year of college at The Citadel, must have already known that his career would be in medicine, because he was assigned as a staff member to care for any of the campers’ injuries or illnesses. I became one of his “patients” when I stepped on a rusty nail the first day. He treated it for me with obvious success because I was able to enjoy the rest of my days there.
I remember Harry was a great swimmer. He taught us swimming and life saving so that we could earn our merit badges that week. The lake at Camp Coker is deep and wide. We were all amazed when Harry showed us that he could swim all the way across the lake under water!
My dad graduated from UVA in 1924 (which I still have a hard time believing!). One summer Alice and I had the pleasure of taking him back to UVA. It was a trip down memory lane for him! While there we were graciously invited to have a visit with Harry in his office.
By then he was famous as a surgeon, especially for the procedures he had developed, but he could not have been more friendly, and generous with his time.
Dad had taught him in high school and they enjoyed reminiscing about those days. I got to remind him that I was his “patient” at Camp Coker!
Dillon can be very proud to be the birthplace and home of Dr. William Harry Muller, Jr.