One of many nice joys I get when writing non-fiction books is discovering a narrative that’s so compelling I need to share it with everybody I do know. And in lots of instances, I do know it will likely be an amazing story for teenagers, after which I’ve struck gold. Such was the case with Checkups, Pictures, and Robots: True Tales Behind How Docs Heal Us. I discovered some juicy nuggets of knowledge that children (and adults!) will love.
One of many themes of my guide is that early civilizations didn’t know a lot about how the physique labored however, by instinct and trial and error and some fortunate cases, they did get a number of issues proper. Such was the case with vaccines. Earlier than researching vaccines, I didn’t know a lot about them. I knew from getting a flu shot that vaccination concerned increase immunity by injecting a small portion of the illness into the physique. Mockingly, whereas I used to be engaged on this a part of the guide I contracted a nasty case of shingles on my face and virtually misplaced an eye fixed. Get your shingles vaccine, people.
I additionally knew a bit about smallpox, however right here’s some particulars: smallpox was a lethal killer that worn out complete populations, and was a number one reason behind dying for indigenous folks in North America. It grew to become an epidemic, and one out of each three individuals who received it died.
However, there was an answer. And it was a phrase I had by no means heard earlier than: variolation. Right here’s the way it labored. From a web page in Checkups, Pictures, and Robots:
Ingenious, proper? A mixture of shut commentary and resourcefulness. And I knew children had been going to have an excellent giggle at somebody getting floor up scabs blown up their nostril. However the cool factor is that that is how vaccines work at this time! Even centuries in the past, they’d this found out.
In fact there may be all the time somebody who takes nice concepts to the lots, and a type of folks was Edward Jenner, who created the primary vaccine. Right here’s his story:
However you may need thought, “Wait a second! This man ought to NOT be working a lot of these experiments.” And that raises a query that I additionally discover in Checkups, Pictures, and Robots. Particularly, what is moral in medical analysis? Do the ends all the time justify the means so long as we’re saving lives? Right here’s a dialogue about that matter:
And that is what I strove for whereas engaged on Checkups, Pictures, and Robots. I needed to make it humorous and attention-grabbing and hit all the foremost (and a few lesser identified) folks in medication. However there’s additionally a second dialog occurring that includes individuals who didn’t actually have a say in how they had been handled (in the event that they had been handled in any respect) and the way their our bodies had been used for analysis. I do know children are in a position to consider these subjects, and whereas Checkups, Pictures, and Robots is a number of enjoyable, there are alternatives to consider these bigger points. And perhaps the following time they go to get a shot, they’ll have an excellent story to share with the pediatrician!
David grew up in Columbus, Ohio surrounded by stacks of MAD Magazines, Calvin and Hobbes collections, and Walt Disney comics. He spent most of his free time studying about sable hairbrushes, non-repro blue pencils, and Bristol board so he may pursue a profession drawing a comicstrip. He went to Ohio State College as an alternative to pursue a level in training, however by no means gave up on the dream! He drew a every day strip inThe Lantern (OSU’s faculty newspaper) for many of his faculty years. After incomes a instructing diploma and dealing a number of years within the classroom, the itch to create comics resurfaced. He headed again to the drafting board (actually) to create academic comics, promoting them on the Academics Pay Academics market. Educators from all over the world have enthusiastically embraced his comics as an efficient solution to educate troublesome language arts ideas, particularly with reluctant readers and English language learners. When he’s not drawing comics, David likes to do yoga, play guitar, and browse.