TOW #9: "A Haitian Boy's Needless Death From Diabetes" by Palav Babaria and Aisling O'Riordan

     Last spring, on a stormy, rainy night, twelve year-old Jean Paul was rushed to an emergency room in rural Haiti because of his horrible medical condition. Jean Paul suffered from type 1 diabetes and malnutrition, which eventually led up to diabetes ketoacidosis, which is a diabetic complication where the body cannot use glucose as a fuel source because there is not enough insulin and instead uses fat as energy. In America, this problem could be easily solved with the availability of glucose strips. However, in rural Haiti, Jean Paul's family lacked those resources and only rushed him to the hospital when it was too late. Even the little amount amount of glucose strips the hospital had did not help them; its only glucometer did not match those strips. Palav Babaria and Aisling O'Riordan, the two authors of the op-ed article, are doctors who volunteered at the hospital at which Jean Paul was admitted. They experienced his tragic story first-hand, using words like "sticklike" to describe his wrists (para. 3), and portraying his condition through phrases like "ragged breath" and "racing heart" (para. 9).
     Published on November 14, also known as "World Diabetes Day," this article's main purpose is to bring attention to a huge medical issue—the lack of globally acceptable glucose strips. Most glucose strips are only compatible with a certain glucometer, which was a huge issue in Jean Paul's case because the hospital staff only had ten available strips and were unable to properly ration out the use of those strips. The article was meant for an audience made up of those who are familiar with global medical issues. In addition, since it is specific to the illness of diabetes, it greatly affects those who are or have loved ones that are diagnosed with diabetes. Babaria and O'Riordan are effective in achieving their purpose because they choose Jean Paul, a twelve year old malnourished child from Haiti,  as a subject. If the subject was a grown man from a developed nation like America, the article's audience would be less affected by the message. The authors' aforementioned use of diction plays a big role as well because it emphasizes Jean Paul's horrible state. Lastly, the authors' contemplative and somewhat resentful tone illustrate the absurdity of the issue and how it can easily be solved with the creation of globally compatible glucose strips, closing their article with the sentence, "...we watched as nurses disconnected Jean-Paul from the intravenous tubing that night and carefully pulled a sheet over him so his father could carry his body out of the hospital" (para. 15).

An estimated 300,000 people are affected by diabetes in Haiti. Learn more about the disease's affect on the developing country here: http://www.crudem.org/diabetes-in-haiti/

(Picture source: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/04/ff_haiti/)