good morning and happy new year. thanks for being with us at this early hour. i'm dr. sanjay gupta. before we talk about 2012, i wanted to take time to reflect on stories and people that caught my attention and changed the world over this past year. january 8, gunfire at a campaign event for congresswoman gabrielle giffords. six people were killed. >> anyone injured? did you say gabrielle giffords was hit? >> she's hit. she's breathing. >> the congresswoman is shot in the head but survives. >> she was exceedingly lucky, right? when i saw the trajectory of

where one hole was and the other hole was, i was like oh, my gosh. however -- >> because it was so far apart. >> it wasn't a little thing it went through a lot. >> three and a half months later the first public steps in the congresswoman's remarkable recovery. in 2011, i tried to put a spotlight on big hits in the brain finding growing evidence that football puts young people at serious risk and professional players as well. in february former chicago bears safety david duerson committed suicide. he left his brain to research. when it came back it had telltale signs of injury. when stories like this rolled in, the nfl put in new rules to try to protect its players. that was march. i witnessed the aftermath in japan. >> right here in the middle of the street --

>> our first hours on the ground were just scary. >> so we are going to move at this point. >> there was no tsunami. we were saved. more than 16,000 people lost their lives. thanks to leaks from a crippled nuclear plant, the district around fukushima will be unlivable for years to come. in may the world health organization said cell phones might -- might cause brain cancer. brain scans can spot the impact of radiation from phones. some studies found a cancer link. doesn't mean cell phones are dangerous. but to be on the safe side, i always say, use an earpiece. just brought questions about cancer and 9/11 just ahead of the tenth anniversary of the attacks. federal authorities say there's not strong evidence connecting dust from the fallen twin towers and cancer. first responders with cancer would not receive special compensation. just a month later a big study of new york city firefighters

found the opposite. >> we found a 19% increase in all cancers in our exposed firefighters as compared to nonexposed firefighters. >> the decision on compensation could still be reversed. in october the spotlight landed on the psa test to detect prostrate cancer, a test undergone by 20 million men each year. a federal advisory panel said a psa test just isn't worth it. then november, exciting news of a stem cell breakthrough, two studies using infusions of a patient's own stem cells. one found they could regrow heart tissue once thought to be impossible. one study found the cells could reverse heart failure. one story that was left unresolved, the fight over the health care law. critics call it obama care. >> i've said time and again, obama care is bad news. it's unconstitutional. it costs way too much money, a trillion dollars. if i'm president of the united

states, i will repeal it for the person people. >> in november the supreme court agreed to decide the law's fate next year. of course most stories never end. this morning i wanted to give you updates. for rescue workers at ground zero, cancer isn't the only concern. many like marty were left with permanent lung disease. got a transplant but failed when his body rejected the lung, then he applied for a second transplant. how sick is marty? >> marty is as sick as can be. marty is still alive because of his ability to persevere. >> but that may not be enough to help him breathe again. just recently he found out whether or not he will get the transplant that could save his life. >> i was considered to be listed again for a second transplant. a month ago they told me, no, i wouldn't be considered. >> that's pretty tough to hear,

as you might imagine. we did recently hear from a friend of marty. they said marty still has hope. in fact, he's trying to get on the transplant list at duke. more heroes falling on hard times. in mid december the last troops left iraq. as i'm constantly reminded, far beyond the withdrawal night. more than 100,000 veterans are sleeping on the sleep. until recently robert was with them. ex-soldiers like robert are desperate for steady care and stable housing. so i was stunned to hear about a piece of property in west los angeles set aside for this very purpose. for veterans, for long-term housing. it's literally across the street from the v.a. hospital. the story here actually dates back all the way to the 1880s. back then government wanted to create facilities for aging veterans of the civil war. former senator john p. jones and

a friend, who was a glamorous heiress decided to donate all this land. back then it was mostly ranch land. but today, just a few miles from the pacific ocean, it is some of the most valuable real estate in all of north america. eventually the chief of staff at the l.a. v.a. hospital agreed to meet me and defended the v.a.'s work. >> i think we have the resources with the community to end homelessness of veterans in los angeles. >> now, the case is still pending. meanwhile robert does continue to do well. recently national v.a. announced efforts have reduced the number of homeless vets by 12%. still a long way to go. another update, folks from the last heart attack at nyad. dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there?

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[oinking] [hissing] [ding] announcer: cook foods to the right temperature using a food thermometer. 3,000 americans will die from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. you know, with some medical breakthroughs you don't need a scientific discovery. one of the most fascinating stories in 2011 was called the last heart attack. you're saying with what we know right now, we don't have to have any more heart attacks in the country. >> i'll never say not any but the great majority.

absolutely. >> it's the biggest killer of men and women, heart disease in the country. >> it's completely preventible. >> the doctor created tests to detect deadly plaques in our arteries to see who is at risk of a heart attack. i got the test as well. i can tell you, it was nerve-racking. >> someone made a comment to me, this was sort of a four-year guarantee. >> yes. >> would you agree with that? >> yes. i'd extend it to five years. >> based on what you've already seen, five to seven years, if i'm feeling chest pains, probably not a heart attack. >> right. >> i also learned something else, that is food can be medicine. sharon, remember her? she had a heart attack. instead of undergoing surgery she became a vegan. a year later she still had a clean bill of health. >> you think this fad will make you live longer? >> i hope so. i hope i get to see you retire. >> i have a feeling you're going

to have to live a very long time for that, which i hope do you. >> i hope i do, too. >> i'm happy to report that sharon is still in tiptop shape. there's another story i want to tell you about, one that i'll never forget. back in august i was witness to a slow motion disaster. a real famine washing over somalia. people have known for months and months this was coming. 30,000 people, as you heard, died over the last three months. even after you get to one of these camps, there's still not enough food here, not enough water, plenty of infectious diseases. today the situation is marginally better. the u.n. says the number of somalis at risk is 250,000. some scaled back operations in refugee camps because of explosions which were directed at the police. more than heavy a million somalis living in overcrowded refugee camps and there's no

reason to expect they will be heading hominy time soon. please keep them in your thoughts. in somalia, a different story on the other side of the world. diana nyad defines tenacity. she's 61 years old. you see her back in august jumping in trying to do something no human had done before, swimming from cuba to key west without a cage or anything. after 29 hours in the water, asthma and a bum shoulder got the best of her. in september she tried again. this time stopping after 67 miles. that's how far she swam, this time stopping because of severe jellyfish stings that paralyzed her muscles. she tells us she's working on a jelly proof suit so she can give it yet another go. that woman so inspirational. coming up, one of the most interesting and cutest people i have met all year. we liked him so much he came back and visited us again. max page, the mini darth vader.

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amidst the countless washington budget ballotses this year, one crazy cute kid from a super bowl bowl commercial because fighting for cuts in health programs. he was fighting this big mission to make capitol hill feel the force. >> dr. gupta. >> i'm it. >> max page only knows one speed, full steam ahead. >> i don't know if i can keep up with this kid. >> you've probably seen max before, even though you might not know it. remember this volkswagen ad from super bowl xlv? darth vader? no, just max. within mere seconds of meeting him max was asking about my

daughters. >> three girls. >> let me guess, four-year-old, two-year-old and six-year-old. >> you got it. how did you know? we're at the children's hospital in los angeles with max and his brother to see a doctor. >> here for your check. >> that's right. max has a pacemaker. actually, it's his third. he's only 6 years old. for his parents jennifer and buck, the first sign of trouble came before he was born. >> my 38 week appointment we found out max had structural damage to his heart. they couldn't get a good heartbeat. an emergency c-section, born in a whirlwind. >> the last thing i remember, almost hopelessness. it's out of my hands as a dad. as a dad, that's not something you're used to. >> simply save my son. that's what i'm here for. ion what you said. i don't understand anything you do. i need to you save my son.

i need to know this kid. >> it was hard to imagine. he was born with a heart condition that's rare, includes four separate problems in the heart, which leads to a lack of oxygen in the blood. without a pacemaker and eight major operations so far, max probably wouldn't be here. >> can you feel it, max? can you feel the pacemaker? >> if you touch it or something hits it, that's kind of when i feel it. >> like the movie cars, they show the pistons and engines going around. you want them working together. you don't want one like this and another at a different rate. have you to have them working together. >> something like this for max or any child should be cared for in children's hospital or any hospital? >> no. this is a fairly sophisticated, fairly subspecialized area of medicine. i'm pediatric electrophysiologist.

there's probably 100 of us in the country. there aren't that many people who do what we do. >> we're joined by darth vader now. one of my favorite parts of the year spending time with you guys, the page family. welcome back. thank you so much. how are you doing in there, buddy? doing okay? it's funny. so many people have been asking about you since they saw me interview you obviously want to remember the commercial. can people get a chance to see you for real? do you want to take the helmet off, darth? there he is. you are really cute without the helmet. look at this. you look fantastic. good to see you. thanks for visiting me. >> you're welcome. >> how has your year been, max? >> good. >> you've been traveling a lot? >> uh-huh. >> where were you yesterday. >> south carolina. >> what were you doing there? >> i was saying thank you to st. jude medical for building my pacemaker. >> a lot of people don't know

you have a pacemaker. you've had a pacemaker for some time now. this your third one? >> right? >> third. >> how are you feeling? do you feel >> mm-hmm. >> doctors say you're good to go? everything is good? you look great. i love seeing you. how is everything going with you guys? you had a busy year. last time we spoke there was a lot of optimism, around els. i can't ignore you. hello. okay, all right. i have kids. this is important. show us the wiggly tooth. there it is. a very, very big achievement. monumental. a lot of kids are very jealous. not even 5 yet. oh, no, you just turned 5. going to be 6 in january. >> he's 5. a lot of kids are really jealous. >> a lot of kids are jealous. a busy year for you guys. i know there was a lot of optimism surrounding the work you guys were doing in washington, but tell us a little

bit about that before we tell people what happened. >> well, we went to washington, d.c., on behalf of the children's hospital network across the country, and in helping to continue to have the funding available for the children's hospital network across the united states. children's hospital los angeles is our home. and because of the doctors and the training that they have, when we needed -- when max was born and we needed the care, they were there immediately for us, and we wanted to secure, make sure that that is always going to be the case for the parents and the children that will come behind us. >> and you're talking about eight major operations for max. this was obviously, jennifer, a really important asset, resource to have in your backyard. there's 56 children's hospitals around the country. what's that risk right now with all that's going on? >> for us, our hospital that

we're at takes every child, and there's 70% medicaid. if medicaid funding is cut, that's going to dramatically hurt our hospital. and the graduate training program. if we're not training pediatricians, with peds, it's going to be devastating. there won't be the specialists and there won't be the specialties that we need. max required several specialists, from intestines to heart and a skilled pediatrician that can see signs when he presents like the flu, it's more serious, let's get in. it just -- for us personally is max's journey. we just feel such an obligation to those that come behind us, to make sure that everything is set for them, too. >> well, we're glad to have you back. this is one of my favorite parts of the year. that's why i love being a journalist, being able to meet people like you. >> thank you very much. it's been wonderful for us, as well. >> people that care about this issue, i have three daughters of my own.

as maxwell well knows, and i think it makes you obviously care just a little bit more. so -- thanks a lot, guys. happy holidays. >> you, too. >> good luck. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas. >> the force on the way out? >> yes. >> now, i will tell you something else, while congress appropriated funds for the children's hospital graduate medical education program for 2012, funding beyond that point is uncertain. the senate left for winter recess without making any headway on the reauthorization of the chgme program, which would guarantee funding for an additional five years. that's where things stand. crazy cute kid. up next though, a look ahead to a story, we'll be all over 2012, it's the concussion crisis in football. we have a big peek into my documentary, it's called "big hits, broken dreams." so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol.

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now a story we've been covering for some time now. an interest of mine. concussions.

you may remember earlier this year, former chicago bear, dave deurson found to have a form of dementia from constant hard hits to his brain. this year alone more than 80 former nfl players, including 4 last week filed suits claiming that the nfl hid the dangers of concussions from them. the first part of the nfl says player safety is a priority and gave a statement that read in part, any allegation that the nfl intentionally sought to mislead players has no merit. it stands in contrast to the league's actions to better protect players. now, just this last week the nfl began requiring nfl trainers to be present at every game as an additional set of eyes to spot big hits. which brings me to your sneak peek of my documentary which goes by the same name, "big hits, broken dreams." >> friday night is pretty big around here. football in north carolina is really big. if you're from around this area, you know jh sports.

>> excited. ready to go. that's all i thought, every single day. football, football, football. ♪ >> football is a tough sport, you know. it ain't for everybody. there's collisions in this sport. >> here it is, my little brother is not moving. he needs help breathing. i mean, i just lost it. >> while he was tackled, walked to the sidelines and collapsed. >> friday night's death of waller is being felt -- >> a very tough time for the whole community. >> they had a tragedy, and it really brought it all to the forefront. >> reporter: how important is it to have athletic trainers at these football programs? 6 >> would you drop a kid off at a pool that didn't have a lifeguard? people are starting to take a look at how important health and safety is for athletes. >> six concussions. >> six. >> i remember getting hit hard.

actually rang my bell. >> for the first three weeks, a constant headache. >> the trainer was asking me questions. i answered them all wrong. >> what we're seeing, is this definitely caused by blows to the head. >> when my son can't remember stuff, i think that it's my fault. >> there are a small percentage of impacts that simulate that car crash. >> he does have symptoms of a concussion. >> if a parent came to you and said, coach, my kid really wants to play football but i want to you tell me he's going to be safe. >> i can't guarantee that. >> reporter: it is a violent game. that's always going to be there. can you make this game safer? hope you get a chance to watch this documentary. we answer a lot of important questions. that team there, the question they're asking, can they turn tragedy into triumph and still play safe and also win? investigations, called "big hits, broken dreams" sunday