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Niels Konge:
"I got my tattoo in memory of my third son, who passed away. He was known as the “Little Viking” around town – he put up quite the fight as he was going through his surgeries. It’s in memory of him.
Jonas was born with a congenital heart disease. Basically, he had one side of his heart that didn’t form – so only one pump. There are surgeries they can do to make it work so he went through some surgeries when he was a baby. When he was just about three he went in for the next round of surgeries; his heart was so weak that when he did the one surgery his heart basically fell apart. They actually removed his heart…and he was the first child in medical history they’ve actually done that to.
So he went on the Berlin Heart – which is a mechanical heart – as the first child in the world who ever had his heart removed completely (the mechanical heart was doing all the work). He was on the Berlin for ten weeks while we hoped and prayed for a transplant. Unfortunately, during those ten weeks….any time you do anything for the first time you never really know what the outcomes are. His other organs started shutting down so at ten weeks he fought what he could do and his other organs were shutting down so we made the decision, as a family, that that was Jonas’ time. He missed his third birthday by five days.
This isn’t my first tattoo. My first tattoo, it took me two years to figure out what I wanted and another year to get exactly what I wanted done. This one here was literally an hour. It was right. I went to my uncles 60th birthday party in Manitoba…I phoned up this guy who was fully booked for 4 months but he rearranged his schedule and went in and got it done. It’s important—to have something all the time to remember Jonas by. We have our memories, but for me its important to have this tattoo, to remember my son – this awesome little guy – and he only made it to just about three, and it’s in his memory. I’m proud of it." - Niels Konge
This image, "Little Viking", was photographed as part of my "Framed Ink" project - a collection of portraits spanning three years of various people's tattoos and the stories behind them. This project will be released as an eBook by my publisher, oopoomoo, in early March. Read more at www.oopoomoo.com/project/framed-ink/
February is CHD awareness month. For those of you who have healthy heart children and do not understand why so many of us heart moms post so much about our miracle babies, just try to imagine what we are going through for just a second.
Our babies have had their chest cut open, their sternum cracked in half, and their heart stopped for hours on end while surgeons try to correct their walnut sized hearts.
Every second that they are in surgery, we are shedding tears or fighting them back with all our might.
When they are finally done, they come back to the intensive care room with a machine breathing for them and tubes coming out of every place the doctor's could possibly find to stick one - IVs, ET tubes, NG tubes, chest tubes, art lines, pacing wires, catheters, etc. They can't talk, cry, or even move.
You are helpless as you watch them lay there looking so pitiful. You stare at the pumps and machines, overwhelmed at everything they have going to keep your baby alive. As he (or she) starts to wake up, they moan and cry in pain. They can't move, talk, or express what they are feeling. As a parent, you just want to scoop them up and say that everything will be OK. But the fact is that you can barely even touch them, let alone hold them. And how can you tell them that everything is going to be OK when you simply don't know yourself?
It is one of the most helpless, awful moments of our lives as parents and only a portion of the battle.
This is Sylvie, my CHD warrior. <3
To see more of my work, please visit my WEBSITE.
either a congenital malformation
or a disease process
most likely mutilated by some pimp
( who will share the profits )
to beg for the rest of his life
living
as he does
in order
to survive
( barely)
“Poverty is the worst form of violence.”
— Mahatma Gandhi, Indian political and spiritual leader
A hungry man can’t see right or wrong. He just sees food. ~ Pearl S. Buck
“Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn't commit.”
— Eli Khamarov, writer
TONGI
Photography’s new conscience
World Vision International, a humanitarian organisation, warns that COVID-19 has forced eight million children into begging and child labour. Amidst the income plummets and job lay-offs of family members, this marginalised population is forced to beg from streets to streets. Various estimates suggest that there are approximately 700,000 beggars in Bangladesh, of which 40,000 reside in the capital city.
(IMHO THIS IS SUCH A LOW ESTIMATION ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY )
instead of school, learning how to read and write and a bit about the outside world he will use his congenital deformity to earn a living for his family. This is his destiny!
I
am
in
Dhaka
Photography’s new conscience
Babette the Beastly Beauty
Babette has a congenital condition called Hypertrichosis which results in excessive body hair that may cover the face and entire body in many cases.
Although based on real-life medical conditions, this series represents my own imaginative responses to the unique beauty of those born different and human diversity in general. They are works of imaginative mythology that I hope will help people to find and appreciate the beauty of the "strange" and unfamiliar.
Handmade Doll Sculpture. 10.25 inches tall. Mixed media.
Copyright © 2010, Shain Erin. All rights reserved.
born with a severe congenital anamoly of his spine.
he survives ( barely) spiritually from his belief in God
and
from the generosity of others.
.“Extreme poverty anywhere is a threat to human security everywhere.”
— Kofi Annan, Seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations
“Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.”
— Aristotle, Greek philosopher
“Poverty is the worst form of violence.”
— Mahatma Gandhi, Indian political and spiritual leader
NIZAM UD DIN
NEW DELHI
Photography’s new conscience
Misha is 4 years old. A week ago he was diagnosed with congenital heart disease. Now he takes 7 different pills daily. Pray that he lives longer...
7artisans 35mm F1.2
A young lady with congenital Amelia.
it pays to take another look i thought.
She deserves it!
sometimes more is more
in how we view the poor
ST VINCENTS SCHOOL FOR THE HANDICAPPED
IN PORT AU PRINCE
( DONATIONS ACCEPTED)
Photography’s new conscience
This sculpture is outside The Dyslexia Foundation in Christchurch. The title I thought was appropriate as someone with dyslexia may get lost and confused whilst reading a book.
The sculpture was created by Sir Richard Taylor. The sculpture uses a steel plasma cut stream of words and it's title is "Inner Struggle". Richard is part of the special effects team at the Oscar winning Weta Workshop in Wellington.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lodKSiWlgrg
Seven Pounds is a 2008 American drama film, directed by Gabriele Muccino, in which Will Smith stars as a man who sets out to change the lives of seven people. Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, and Barry Pepper also star. The film was released in theaters in the United States and Canada on December 19, 2008, by Columbia Pictures. Despite receiving negative reviews, it was a box-office success, grossing US$168,168,201 worldwide.
Tim Thomas (Smith), while carelessly sending a text message while driving, veers across the center line into oncoming traffic and causes a multi-car crash in which seven people die: six strangers and his fiancée, Sarah Jenson (Robinne Lee).
Two years later, in a bid for atonement, Tim sets out to save the lives of seven good people by donating his own vital organs, a process that will be completed after his planned suicide. A year after the crash, having quit his job as an aeronautical engineer, Tim donates a lung lobe to his brother Ben (Michael Ealy), an IRS field agent. Tim then steals his brother's federal IRS identification badge and credentials, puts his picture over Ben's, identifies himself by his brother's name, and uses Ben's privileges to check out the financial backgrounds of further potential candidates for his donations. In each case, he "interviews" them first to determine if they are good people.
In one case, the director of a hospice nursing home facility, who had an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant, seeks a six-month extension on his back taxes. Tim, now going by his brother's name, is unsure of the man's ethics, because he claims to be insolvent, yet drives a new BMW. To resolve the issue, "Ben" passionately asks a resident patient, an elderly bedridden woman, to tell him whether he is a "good man", only to discover that the man is punishing the woman for refusing to take a new medication by not allowing the nurses to bathe her.
Six months later, "Ben" donates part of his liver to a child protective services social worker named Holly (Judyann Elder). He then finds George (Bill Smitrovich), a junior hockey coach and donates a kidney to him. He then donates bone marrow to a young boy named Nicholas (Quintin Kelley), opting to have no anesthesia during the procedure, an evident consequence of his desire for atonement. In each case, he does not tell the people what his intentions are for his donations, despite being repeatedly asked.
Two weeks before he dies, he contacts Holly and asks if she knows anyone "in the system" who needs and deserves help, but is too proud to ask for it. Holly suggests Connie Tepos (Elpidia Carrillo), who lives with her two kids and an abusive boyfriend, but cannot afford to leave. When "Ben" arrives to "interview" her under the guise of dealing with the IRS, Connie is embarrassed and humiliated that he knows what has been going on. She defends her boyfriend, is offended by "Ben"'s suggestion that she should leave with her kids, and kicks him out of her house. In the meantime, "Ben" moves out of his house and into a local motel, taking with him his pet box jellyfish, decidedly the most venomous creature on earth, with its sting causing death in three to five minutes. That night, after being beaten by her boyfriend again, Connie contacts "Ben". He meets her, tells her not to be weak, and gives her the keys and directions to his beach house. She takes her two children and they move into the house. Then, she reads a letter from "Ben" which includes the deed to the house, again giving no explanation, and asking for her to respect his wishes, not try to contact him, not tell anyone how she got the house, and "live life abundantly".
"Ben"'s sixth candidate is Ezra Turner (Harrelson), a blind telemarketer for a meat company, who plays the piano. "Ben" calls Ezra and harassed him at work weeks earlier, to see if he was quick to anger; when Ezra remains calm and humble through the abuse, "Ben" decides he is worthy.
"Ben" then contacts Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson), a wedding announcement/greeting card printer who has a congenital heart condition and rare blood type that has left her with only weeks to live. Ben interviews her at her home, again under the guise of an IRS investigation, and more or less stalks her at the hospital, but then he starts to spend time with her, walking her Great Dane called Duke, weeding her garden, and fixing her rare Heidelberg Windmill press. He visibly fights his affections for her, again seeking atonement for the death of his fiancée, but he slowly falls in love with her.
At one point, while comforting Emily (who is in the hospital after an emergency), he tells her the tale of a young boy named Tim, who wanted to fly and became a space engineer. Emily recognizes this is an actual story of his childhood and suggested the boy was named Ben, but he corrects her by sheer reflex, telling her that the boy is called Tim... obviously himself.
Tim's brother, the real Ben, finally tracks Tim down at Emily's house, saying that he must return his IRS credentials. After a passionate sexual interlude with Emily, and with Ben waiting outside her house, Tim disappears out the back door, leaving her sleeping. He returns on foot to the motel, first stopping by the hospital to ask the doctor if any chance exists that Emily will improve. Discovering that she will likely die before a donated organ becomes available, he decides "it's time".
Tim then fills the motel bathtub with ice water to preserve his vital organs, calls 9-1-1 emergency and reports his own suicide, climbs into the tub, and releases his box jellyfish into the water with him. The jellyfish wraps its tentacles around his arm, causing a quick but excruciatingly painful death.
At the hospital, his best childhood friend Dan (Pepper) acts as executor of Tim's living will to ensure that his organs are donated to Emily and Ezra. Ezra receives Tim's corneas, which cure his blindness, and Emily receives his heart.
Afterward, Ben finds letters from Tim that he is to give to each person explaining why he did what he did. This leaves Emily heartbroken. Emily finds Ezra (now a school teacher) at his kid's choir concert at a park and stops him as he passes by. Having never met before, Emily is fixated on Ezra's eyes, knowing they belonged to Tim. Emily begins to break down, which clues Ezra in to who she is. When he says, "You must be Emily," she breaks into tears and they share a heartfelt embrace out of mutual love and respect for Tim.
Before the film's release, the title Seven Pounds was considered a "mystery" which the studio refused to explain.
Early trailers for Seven Pounds kept the film's details a mystery. Director Gabriele Muccino explained the intent: "The [audience] will not know exactly what this man is up to." Will Smith is reported to have confirmed that the title refers to Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, in which a debtor must pay a pound of flesh. In this case, it amounts to seven gifts to seven individuals deemed worthy by Smith's character, to atone for seven deaths he caused.
... un dono per chi dona ...
Pà,
un anno senza te ...
Buon Vento.
"Baby Jerry Ogata died on October 15th 1943 in Manzanar of a congenital heart defect. Age 2 months. His Parents, Mr. and Mrs. Toshiro Ogata were transferred to Tule Lake Segregation Center after his death.
Musée Dupuytren
From series James G. Mundie's Cabinet of Curiosities
[Copyright © 2008 James G. Mundie. Image may not be reproduced in any form without express written permission.]
a boy with congenital deformities
blind
prone to lethal illness
prone to a very bleak future
prone to begging to survive
in this very touristed religious spiritual city
imagine this in MIDTOWN MANHATTAN
BODHGAYA
where BUDDHA reached enlightenment
Photography’s new conscience
Found this poor thing sitting in a parking lot at Bodega Bay. I was confused as to what was going on when a man came to direct the bird in a certain direction. Turns out, they are trying to feed the bird as he is either injured or has a congenital defect in one leg.
This is my dalmatian Sherman - AKA "spotty." He is camera shy so I was very excited to get this shot of him. He is congenitally deaf as are many blue-eyed dalmations.
a severely deformed man seemingly with a congenital condition who must walk on all fours,
and yet................
has normal facial features .
How can he survive without any Government resources?
Only with the generosity of others does he .
in
Jaipur
Photography’s new conscience
Babette the Beastly Beauty
Babette has a congenital condition called Hypertrichosis which results in excessive body hair that may cover the face and entire body in many cases.
Although based on real-life medical conditions, this series represents my own imaginative responses to the unique beauty of those born different and human diversity in general. They are works of imaginative mythology that I hope will help people to find and appreciate the beauty of the "strange" and unfamiliar.
Handmade Doll Sculpture. 10.25 inches tall. Mixed media.
Copyright © 2010, Shain Erin. All rights reserved.
“My whole life has been a pursuit of normalcy. I was Born with congenital amputation, which means I have shortened limbs. Even though it was a randon coincidence, I’ve always looked at it as God’s will for my life. As a child, I wore prosthetic limbs for a while, but I didn’t need them. When I was two, I picked up a crayon and started scribbling, Just like any other kid, and later I taught myself to type 50 words a minute. It’s not that I was gifted, it’s Just that I have parents who instilled in me that anything I wanted to do, I could do. When sixth grade rolled around, my mom called up the wrestling coach and Said, “My son’s a little bit different, but he’ll be able to do whatever you ask him to do, Just give him the chance”. And that’s what my coach did. He tucked his arms in his sleeve and figured out moves I could use. I had a rough start, and I lost my first thirty-five matches, but I got good. In high school this year I never once got pinned. My social life is also great, and I’m enjoying playing the field. I was elected to the prom court, and I took this beautiful girl as my dat and we danced all night long. Of course, Day to day things can catch me off guard. Opening Coke cans is tough, and buttons are tricky. But you work past those things. I feel that maybe I can make na impacto n people’s lives, and that’s a gift. I know firshand thta anyone can overcome obstacles and achieve their dreams. I’m going to Georgia Tech now and someday I want to coach my own wrestling team. Wrestling hás been the coolest thing in my life. I enter the ring on the back of a teammate, but once I hit the mat, I’m ready to go. Once you strat kicking some kid’s butt, you really start to Love it” – Kyle “My brother won a gold medal in wrestling at Olypics this year, and I’m ranked number one in the nation in my high-school weight class. I Love wrestling, Kyle’s my inspiration” – Cyler.
Llevaba mucho tiempo sin subir fotos, y qué mejor forma que hacerlo que… ¡Con Fernandito! Ese corzo al que vi el año pasado y decidí apodar así (ya que era fácil de distinguir por su defecto congénito). Me sorprendió cuando comprobé que era él, definitivamente (creía que se trataba de un hijo suyo o que simplemente la genética de esa zona, era mala, pero no). Este ha sido sin duda, el corzo que más cerca he tenido… a dos metros por lo menos y estuvo varios segundos. Lo malo de estas cosas, es que, si queremos fotografiarlo, tenemos que mirar a través del visor y no directamente con los ojos. Mirar cara a cara con los ojos da otra experiencia que si lo hacemos a través de la cámara, pero es un sacrificio que tenemos que hacer si queremos tener el recuerdo para siempre.
_________________________________________
He had long been without uploading photos and what better way to do that that with Fernandito! This deer that I saw last year and decided to dub as well (as it was easy to distinguish by their congenital defect). I was surprised when I checked that it, was definitely (it was believed that a child was yours or that simply the genetics of that area, it was bad, but not). It has certainly been deer closer I've had... two meters at least and was several seconds. The trouble with these things, is that, if we want to photograph it, we have to look through the viewfinder and not directly with the eyes. Looking face to face with the eyes gives different experience than if we do it through the camera, but it's a sacrifice that you have to do if we want to have the memory forever.
Babette the Beastly Beauty
Babette has a congenital condition called Hypertrichosis which results in excessive body hair that may cover the face and entire body in many cases.
Although based on real-life medical conditions, this series represents my own imaginative responses to the unique beauty of those born different and human diversity in general. They are works of imaginative mythology that I hope will help people to find and appreciate the beauty of the "strange" and unfamiliar.
Handmade Doll Sculpture. 10.25 inches tall. Mixed media.
Copyright © 2010, Shain Erin. All rights reserved.
every visit for the last 20 years
@ Nizam Ud Din in Delhi
Ahmed is seated in the same spot.
in spite of his blindness
and congenital malformations
he always has a smile on his face,
something i rarely have.
in
Delhi
Photography’s new conscience
I did this for Jessica's group..
Congenital Heart Defects
One of my relatives has this, and he's just several months old, and he already did the open heart surgery.
It tears me how babies have to struggle all this :/
so this is dedicated to all the people who are struggling from the Congenital Heart Defects.
a congenital deformity
laying on the pavement
publicizing his deformity
pleading for takas
simply makes sense
does it not?
DHAKA
Photography’s new conscience
a muslim boy
with a congenital deformity
for the rest of his life dependent on this rickety wagon.
Will the worlds largest democracy help him with some other medical help something more dignified something less demoralizing?
Delhi
Photography’s new conscience
Lavinia Fontana -
Antonietta (Tognina) Gonzales [1593-95] -
Chateau Blois, Loire, France
The girl shown in the above painting suffers from congenital hypertrichosis. Hypertrichosis is an abnormal amount of hair growth over the body.
Was born in Costa Rica with a congenital liver disease. The FHA team at its program in Caracas, Venezuela transplanted her and she is doing well.
bilaterally amputated
yet normal hands
this might be congenital
though it
appears to be purposeful
( note the bandage )
beggars will do all kinds of things
to their bodies
to profit more from their trade...
This is not seen in the western world
Delhi
Photography’s new conscience
A muslim boy
with
congenital
deformities
wheeling around
to
and
fro
via his calloused palms...............
begging.
noticed me from a mile away
darted towards me
as if he had a motorbike
his eyes glued to mine
“Extreme poverty anywhere is a threat to human security everywhere.”
— Kofi Annan, Seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations
“Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.”
— Aristotle, Greek philosopher
“Poverty is the worst form of violence.”
— Mahatma Gandhi, Indian political and spiritual leader
Old Delhi
Photography’s new conscience
Location: Selangor, Malaysia
Instagram: www.instagram.com/vinceadam2021/
One of the largest and most beautiful cicada species in the world. This species is from the order of Hemiptera and the family of Cicadidae. It has a wingspan of 15–18 cm (5.9–7.1 in) and a head-body length of 4.7–5.7 cm (1.9–2.2 in). See head picture.
Description: Tacua speciosa has black wings, a yellow-green collar, a red transversal stripe on the thorax and a turquoise-blue abdomen.
Distribution: Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia (Sumatra, Java), and Singapore
Fun facts:
In general, there are about 150 species of cicadas in Malaysia, 80 of which can be found in Sabah said Dr. Arthur Chung (Sabah Forestry Dept.). Cicadas in Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia have a shorter life cycle of 1-3 years.
Another entomologist Dr. Azlin Muhammad (UKM) addded that cicadas go through their entire life cycle underground, emerging only in adulthood to mate then die .
Beside that, Dr Azman Sulaiman (UKM) commented that "cicadas are relatively clean compared to other insects although some may carry parasites. They do not have congenital diseases but are susceptible to infections by parasitic fungus which, according to Azman, have spawned what is known as “zombie cicadas” in the US".
The swarming season for cicadas in Malaysia is from March to May, but they do not put on a thrilling show like the American cousins.
Source: The Sun (31 May 2021)
Diprosopus, also known as craniofacial duplication, is an extremely rare congenital disorder whereby parts or all of the face is duplicated on the head.
Byculla
MumBai
Photography’s new conscience
My take
he was born with congenital anomalies.......
or
might have had his legs amputated purposely
@
KUMBH MELA
in
ALLAHABAD
Photography’s new conscience
Even though Patches has congenital heart disease, hearing loss, and severe arthritis, he was frisky enough to play with his toy this morning.
missing legs
and right forearm
congenital ? most probably
diabetes?
or
mutilation
yet he survives...
i met his granddaughter
he invited me to shoot him
and we shook hands
Anjuna
Goa
Photography’s new conscience
Example of an extreme skin disorder (Musée Dupuytren)
From series James G. Mundie's Cabinet of Curiosities
[Copyright © 2008 James G. Mundie. Image may not be reproduced in any form without express written permission.]
"There can be no Good Will. Will is always Evil; it is persecution to others or selfishness."
– William Blake, "Annotations to Swedenborg" (1788)
"Some people talk as if meeting the gaze of absolute goodness would be fun. They need to think again. They are still only playing with religion. Goodness is either the great safety or the great danger — according to the way you react to it."
– C. S. Lewis
"The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts. He ascribes all his failure to get on in the world, all of his congenital incapacity and damfoolishness, to the machinations of werewolves assembled in Wall Street, or some other such den of infamy."
– H.L. Mencken, "Varieties of Envy"
intentional
amputation
of both arms
this is not congenital
nor is it metabolic or
more hyperbole
it is
survival !!!!
beggars
during
Islamic prayer
in
KOLKATA
Photography’s new conscience
This poor cheetah cub is almost blind. He has dense bilateral cataracts which are probably congenital but may have developed secondary to infection. He became distressed whenever his mother moved more than a few metres away making high-pitched bird-like chirping calls. He looked rather thin making it difficult to be certain about his age but clearly his mother had done well to rear him thus far.
It was difficult not to be moved by this poor cub's plight but if the cataracts are indeed genetically based then it is better that such "faulty" genes do not survive.
Sadly the cub disappeared completely after this encounter.
Image framed by a friend.
Maurice Cullen (30 December 1937 – November 2001) was an English lightweight boxer, who held the British Lightweight Title, defending it four times.
Cullen had a style that very much centred round his left jab. He had problems with his right hand during his early amateur days and this made him depend more on his left hand. He had large reserves of stamina due to an abnormally slow heart rate, known as bradycardia, and he would use his left jab to score points whilst using his mobility to keep away from his opponent’s punches. This did not always lead to an attractive contest earning him the nickname the one armed bandit, and Cullen was not as popular outside his native North-East as his talent would seem to merit.
He grew up in Wheatley Hill, County Durham, beginning work as an apprentice pipe fitter at the local colliery. He later move to nearby Shotton. He fought in National Coal Board boxing championships winning the featherweight title and later the lightweight title.
In 1959 he turned professional with his brother Terry as his manager. In his first professional fight, in November 1959 against Ricky McMasters, he won on points over six rounds.
For the next three years Cullen built up a record of 24 wins, 2 defeats and 2 draws. Of his wins in this period only one was by knockout and four by technical knockout.
Cullen’s record put him in line for a title challenge against the British lightweight champion, Dave Charnley. Charnley was a southpaw, who had held the British title since 1957, and had twice unsuccessfully fought for the world title. The fight took place on 20 May 1963 at Belle Vue, Manchester, and Charnley retained his title after fifteen rounds with a points decision. Cullen reportedly did not like fighting southpaws, but pushed Charnley all the way.
In October of the same year Carlos Ortiz, the Puerto Rican world lightweight champion, came to England for a ten-round non-title fight against Cullen at the Empire Pool, Wembley. Although Cullen was knocked down in the last round he hung on to lose on points, having given the world champion a hard fight.
In the meantime, Dave Charnley, had moved up to welterweight and finally retired in December 1964, leaving the British lightweight title vacant. Following his defeat to Carlos Ortiz, Cullen had had three successive victories, and so was in a good position to contest the vacant championship. He fought the Liverpudlian Dave Coventry at Liverpool Stadium in April 1965. Cullen spent fifteen rounds back-pedalling and poking his left jab into Coventy’s face without his opponent being able to do anything about it. This incensed some of the home crowd, who made their feeling clear, but Cullen easily gained the decision and became the new British lightweight champion.
Cullen fought two more bouts, gaining points victories before defending his title against Vic Andreeti, the Hoxton fighter whom he had beaten twice already. The bout was in November 1965 at Wolverhampton, and Cullen gained another fifteen-round points decision, although Andreeti and some of his supporters thought that he should have been given the decision.
Cullen then fought two more bouts, winning them both, before defending his title against Terry Edwards, a boxer with a less than impressive record. The bout was held in June 1966 at the New St James Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne. The hall was only half full, but those present witnessed Cullen winning by a technical knockout in the fifth round from a right-hand punch. With this victory Cullen won the Lonsdale Belt outright.
Cullen fought three more fights, winning two and losing the third to American Lloyd Marshall by a ninth-round knockout. He then defended his title for the third time, in a rematch against Vic Andreeti. The bout was in April 1967 at the New St James Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne. Cullen again won on points over fifteen rounds in front of a packed hall, despite a late scare due to a cut near his eye.
Cullen fought and won two more bouts, one in Helsinki, Finland and the other in Madison Square Garden, New York City. He then defended his title for the fourth time, against Ken Buchanan, a 22-year-old Scot with twenty-three straight wins to his name. The bout was in February 1968 at the Hilton Hotel, Mayfair, London. Buchanan fought a fast, aggressive fight forcing Cullen to back-pedal. He caught Cullen with a number of solid punches, putting him down twice in the sixth and twice more in the ninth. He finally caught Cullen with a flurry of punches as he started to tire in the eleventh, and after going down, Cullen was unable to beat the count. He had been replaced as champion by a boxer who would go on to be world light-heavyweight champion. Cullen had retained the British title for nearly three years.
Cullen carried on fighting for two more years, and had seven more bouts, including a defeat in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and a victory and a defeat in Copenhagen, Denmark. He fought his last bout on 14 January 1970 against Victor Paul, in Solihull. As usual he won on points.
After retiring from boxing, Cullen worked in a chemical factory in Hartlepool and then became a milkman before retiring completely. In retirement he continued to keep fit, but in 1998 he collapsed while out running. He had a quadruple heart bypass operation to correct a congenital defect. He appeared to return to full fitness following his surgery, but in November 2001 he died of a heart attack.
This is my little nephew (XubYeej), we called him the miracle baby because he is a survivor of two open heart surgeries. One at birth and the other one when he was three months for congenital heart defect. During this Thanksgiving week remember to be thankful for what and who we have.
? - Unknown Palate & Lip
THHF Mission to Patzun, Guatemala, November 2010.
The Healing Hands Foundation (THHF) is a non-profit organisation providing medical services to children around the world. The mission of THHF is to provide high quality surgical care to children with complex congenital malformations in areas lacking resources and surgical expertise. All surgery is performed at no cost to the patient.
Read more about the work of The Healing Hands Foundation on their website: www.thhfoundation.org/
Copyright Nick Scott 2010