THE WORLD REGAINED

Dennis McEldowney, a New Zealander, was a ""blue baby"" who survived this congenital heart condition at a time when- before operative techniques were discovered- no child was expected to live more than a few years. Although his childhood- while restricted- was relatively normal, he was completely bed-bound by the time he was twenty- and a cardio-surgical clinic was opened in Auckland which could give him a slim chance of recovery. This is the story of that recovery, after an unexpectedly successful operation, and of the ""world regained"" after his boxed-up life of an invalid; of the first hot bath and the first venture outdoors; of walking, shopping, a film and a concert; of people- many, many people as he tentatively, slowly, and in some confusion was returned to a new and normal life. He tells his story without self-pity and with extreme simplicity -- but few will not share with him the unsuspected importance of these incidentals.