This picture began circulating in November, 1999. It should be "The Picture of the Year," or perhaps, "The Picture of the Decade." It won't be.

Unless you obtained a copy of the paper you probably will never see it. This picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by a surgeon named Joseph Bruner.

Tiny hand reaching out to big hand in thanks

The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from the mother's womb. Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta. She knew of Dr. Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure

. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb. In the procedure, a C-section removes the uterus and the doctor makes a small incision to operate on the baby.

During the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed, hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger.

The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, "Hand of Hope." The text explaining:the picture begins,

"The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift life." "The Hand" of the fetus. You are seeing the actual picture, and it is awesome...incredible.