Breathing Room

Breathing Room

To my parents' generation antibiotics were truly miracle drugs.
The greatest generation grew up in a time when illnesses like
tuberculosis (TB) were death sentences for large numbers of people and
treatments involved equal portions of science and guess work. Marsha
Hayles' Breathing Room vividly illuminates those not so good old days.
Evvy, 13, has been admitted to Loon Lake Sanatorium, an
institution specializing in long term care of TB patients. She's away
from her family for an indefinite amount of time, trapped in a regimen
that seems to me like something from Dante's inferno. To rest her
lungs she must stay flat on her back until well enough to earn
privileges like sitting up and receiving mail. And she isn't even
allowed to talk.
Keeping teenage girls from talking is pretty much impossible.
It isn't long before Evvy gets to know and care about her roommates
and the precarious situation they are in. Going home is code for
death. It's impossible to tell who will succomb and who will achieve
a cure. Friendship is a big risk but one that is taken by these brave
young people.
Not long after the setting of this story it was discovered that
TB could be cured with antibiotics. This led to the closing of
sanatoriums. Hayles did not want the young people who came of age in
such inhospitable environments to be forgotten. So she wrote the
book. It truly is an eye opener.
Although it is billed as juvenile or YA literature I see
Breathing Room as also relevant to adults. TB is making a come back
with some truly terrifying strains that are resistant to all known
antibiotics. That's because antibiotics are not only prescribed like
candy (even though they are no darn good in treating viruses) but
given to food animals to fatten them up. Survival of the fittest
means that those bacteria that develop resistance will get to
multiply. Unless we want to see our kids or grandkids live through
experiences like Evvy's we had better get militant about our wonder
drugs and insist that they keep their potency by being used only when
really needed.
On a personal note, I took Joey cat to the vet where he was proclaimed
to be in excellent health. He did not appreciate that trip and was
very happy to be home again.
A great big shout out goes out to the healers of both people and our
beloved animal companions.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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