An Incredible Journey

Born in Pécs, Hungary, Dr. Thomas Z. Lajos survived the Nazi occupation and the "Soviet liberation" of Hungary. He graduated as an MD in 1956 and worked as a house surgeon in Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution in October 1956. Following the defeat of the uprising by the Soviet troops, the author escaped to Austria and settled in Canada and the USA, where he completed his postgraduate training in cardiothoracic surgery. He practiced his specialty for over thirty-five years in Buffalo, NY and served as a clinical professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. In this publication, the author presents the circumstances of his early life, medical education, and training as a surgeon. Dr. Lajos recounts his "incredible" personal and professional "journey" from an oppressed communist country to the free and democratic West, where by means of intelligent decisions, hard work, and good fortune, he achieved his dreams. Filled with analyses, memories, photographs, stories, writings, and much more, this autobiography retells the author's truly extraordinary story.