Free Picture Book: 'COVID-19: Not Just the Flu, COVID-19 Pathogenesis Explained Easily for All' - by Allison Guo
Hi everyone! I am Allison Guo, a 17-year old living in the United States and the author and illustrator of the picture book COVID-19: Not Just the Flu, COVID-19 Pathogenesis Explained Easily for All.
I know that I am speaking for myself and many others when I say that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about many uncertainties and some uneasiness to all of our lives. My heart goes out to those who have experienced tremendous lifestyle changes, to families who have suffered losses, to the brave essential workers on the frontlines, to the courageous scientists working hard to shed light on the unknowns and to generate treatments, and to many others.
Scientific discovery is paramount for societal advancement, especially right now. By following the ever-changing COVID-19 research during the last few months, I was able to bring back some certainty into my own life: the objectivity offered by science journals and clinical studies, however provisional at the time, were able to provide some degree of comfort during times when everything seemed like brand new territory.
One question, though, that kept on popping into my mind was, “How does COVID-19 actually kill?” To answer this burning question, I emerged myself into the world of COVID-19 findings and had the honor of talking to professionals in the field, gaining their expertise as well. This brought about a whole new level of clarity of the new disease to me, especially the undeniable link between COVID-19 and sepsis. In order to emphasize this link and to bring others the same clarity that the science behind-it-all brought to me (however small), I decided to illustrate and write a picture book explaining COVID-19’s pathogenesis in simple terms.
This book details the unique progression of COVID-19, highlighting both clinically-observed respiratory abnormalities (lung inflammation, pneumonia, and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) and systemic disorders (blood clotting and multi-organ failure, which are the typical features of sepsis). I am beyond honored to be recognized by the Global Sepsis Alliance, whose recent work to advance knowledge of the COVID-19 and sepsis link I look up to. I would also like to greatly thank Dr. Konrad Reinhart for his time peer-reviewing the content of this book and graciously writing its foreword.
I am by no means an expert, but my wish is to share the simplistic yet sufficient understanding that I have with others. The goal of this book is to allow people of all ages and educational backgrounds to learn about the new disease. As a result of this, I hope that, for some people, learning the facts will provide stability to grasp onto; I hope that, for others, it will offer optimism that still much more is able to be unearthed; and I hope that, for all, this book presents itself as an opportunity to understand our current reality through a different lens.
On the occasion of World Sepsis Day, the kindle version of the picture book is free from now until midnight World Sepsis Day. Afterwards, Allison is kindly donating the proceeds from the book to the Global Sepsis Alliance. Thanks Allison, you’re amazing!