This potentially lifesaving book comes from the experience of 17-year-old New York Times bestselling author Alice Paul Tapper, a misdiagnosis activist, sepsis-awareness advocate, and high-school senior in Washington, DC. In a statement to the Associated Press when the book was released, Tapper said: “I am so excited to share this book and empower kids visiting the hospital, a place that can be scary for everyone, not just children.”
In this fictionalized version of her story begins with Alice sitting up in bed, having wakened to "the worst tummy pain I'd ever felt." Her shaggy dog rests his chin on her feet, his eyes wide with concern and sympathy.
In the morning, the pain hasn't gotten any better, and Alice's parents take her to the hospital. A doctor there shows her a pain chart and asks her to pick which face pain best shows how she feels. She's nervous and doesn't know which one to pick, but then something extraordinary happens: The creatures on the chart speak up and start to help her! They tell her she's not alone, and Number Nine says, "Based on how you are feeling, you should pick me!"
This brilliant twist in the book not only helps readers dare to say how bad they really feel, should they find themselves in a situation like Alice's, but acknowledges what we so often forget: that pain can be a friend that warns us of something wrong and gives us essential information about what to do next.
Illustrator Fanny Liem does such a fine job of making these number creatures come alive — ears drooping or perked, eyes bright or tearful, ever fluffy and cuddly — that we hope a new pain-assessment chart can be made based on her art. Even when the doctors aren't believing Alice or giving her the care she needs, these colorful creatures stay beside her with care and concern, essential reminders of the importance of listening to her own body.
The other brilliant part of this book and of Alice's own story is that even when she's misdiagnosed with flu and treated condescendingly by the doctor, she continues to speak up. With the continual encouragement of creature Number Nine, she eventually shouts at the doctor that she's getting worse and he needs to see what's going on inside her. A new doctor gets called in, listens attentively to Alice, takes her for an X-ray, an ultrasound, and a CT scan, and discovers the severity of Alice's illness: She has appendicitis and sepsis, which can cause organs to stop working. Fortunately, the medical staff now intervene before it's too late.
Written for children ages four to eight, this book has the power to educate and influence both children and their teachers and caregivers about how critical it is to hear and believe children, especially in medical emergencies. In an Opinion piece for CNN, Tapper writes about research showing that "appendicitis misdiagnoses are more likely in children under 5 — and in girls. I was disappointed but not surprised to learn that girls can be listened to and taken seriously less often." We are grateful that Tapper's advocacy on behalf of others is now being heard around the world.
