After 6,000 people died from whooping cough in 1932, three extraordinary women stepped forward to confront this deadly disease. The three women — scientists Pearl Kendrick and Grace Eldering and their research assistant Loney Clinton Gordon — who developed a vaccine for pertussis, also known as whooping cough, became public health legends who were honored with this sculpture at the Michigan State University Research Center.
With thousands of children dying annually from the disease — more than from diphtheria, scarlet fever, tuberculosis or polio — “it’s difficult to explain just how desperate people were for a [whooping cough] vaccine at this time,” says historian Carolyn Shapiro-Shapin. When their vaccine was ready for field testing in 1934, parents volunteered their children in droves, hoping to protect them from the horrors of the deadly “100-day cough.” It’s estimated that today, the vaccine saves half a million lives annually.
Regardless of your opinions on vaccines, I’m glad we have them. From polio to smallpox and whooping cough, countless lives have been saved from the ravages they created, including wiping out entire civilizations. And because I’m in a state of mourning, I needed a distraction from the chaos upon our lands.
Staying in the present seems appropriate with the confirmation hearings for a new DHS director opposed to them. I do hope you use common sense to decide your responsibility to humanity however you lean. It’s been sorely missing these last couple decades among certain groups of people.
Another great story, below the links, of a high school science fair winner. It is the inspiration I needed.
To introduce children to more pioneering women of public health, we highly recommend “Dr. Jo: How Sara Josephine Baker Saved the Lives of America’s Children” for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/dr-jo) and “The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes: The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath” for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/the-doctor-with-an-eye-for-eyes)
For a fun picture book about a young rabbit who discovers the cure to a mysterious malady sickening her forest friends, check out “Charlotte the Scientist Finds A Cure” for ages 4 to 8 at https://www.amightygirl.com/charlotte-the-scientist-finds…
There is also an excellent book about 21 trailblazing women in medicine, “Bold Women of Medicine” for ages 12 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/bold-women-of-medicine
For more children’s books about pioneering women of science, visit our blog post, “60 Children’s Books to Inspire Science-Loving Mighty Girls,” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=13914
Meet Destany “Sky” Pete
Destany “Sky” Pete, a high school student from the Shoshone and Paiute Tribes, made a groundbreaking discovery at the 2017 Elko County Science Fair by scientifically proving the cancer-fighting properties of a traditional Native American recipe, chokecherry pudding. Sky noticed her tribe’s health issues were linked to a lack of traditional foods, including toishabui, or chokecherry pudding.
With the help of Dr. Ken Cornell, a biochemistry professor, Sky tested various chokecherry samples on uterine sarcoma cancer cells. Remarkably, the traditional chokecherry pudding, made with crushed chokecherry pits, successfully inhibited cancer cell growth, causing the cells to die within 24 hours.
Sky’s discovery earned her the First Grand Prize at the science fair, beating over 440 projects. She believes modern health problems, like diabetes, are due to the loss of traditional foods. Sky plans to further investigate the pudding’s effects on other types of cancer cells and continues to explore the medicinal value of ancestral remedies, offering hope for natural cancer treatment and traditional medicine.
#cancerresearch #naturalremedies #traditionalmedicine #scientificdiscovery #NativeAmericanheritage #healthandwellness #naturalhealing
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